Payne, Private John William

Service highlights

  • Born: 22 November 1890, Warwickshire, England
  • Service number: 767158
  • Immigrated to Canada: About 1912
  • Enlisted: 28 January 1916, Toronto, Ontario
  • Sailed for overseas service: Departed Halifax on SS Metagama, 8 August 1916
  • Unit history: 123rd Canadian Infantry Battalion (enlistment unit), later served with the 19th Canadian Infantry Battalion in France
  • Died: Reported missing after fighting near Fresnoy, presumed died on or about 9 May 1917
  • Commemoration: Vimy Memorial, France
  • Remembered locally: Named on a bronze memorial plaque in St. Marys United Church and on a Town Hall bronze plaque

A Life and Service Remembered

John William Payne was born in Warwickshire, England on 22 November 1890. He came to Canada around 1912 and built a life that connected England, Ontario, and the town of St. Marys. By the time the war reached its hardest years, he was working as a leather worker in Toronto, doing steady, practical work and living an ordinary life that war would soon interrupt.

John enlisted in Toronto on 28 January 1916. Like many men of that time, he trained, waited, and then began the long journey overseas. On 8 August 1916, he sailed from Halifax aboard the SS Metagama, carrying with him whatever hopes he could hold onto and the weight of leaving home behind.

When he reached Europe, the war was consuming reinforcements at a brutal pace. Units arriving from Canada were being broken up to strengthen battalions already fighting in France. John was posted to the 19th Canadian Infantry Battalion. He arrived at the Canadian General Base Depot in Le Havre on 11 October 1916, then spent weeks waiting before he was finally sent forward on 12 December. He joined the 19th Battalion and settled into billets near Calonne, France, learning the routines of the front that became a new, harsh normal.

Through the early months of 1917 he served in the Vimy Sector. This was not a single day on a map, but months of trench duty, patrols, and the grinding work of holding the line. When the battle for Vimy Ridge came in April 1917, he was there with the 19th Battalion and took part in the famous attack on 9 April. For many Canadians, Vimy became a defining memory of the war. For the men who fought it, it was also smoke, mud, exhaustion, and the quiet knowledge that every advance came at a cost.

Only weeks later, that cost found John again. His records note him as Anglican, and they also point to ties with the St. Marys Methodist Church. After the fighting that took him from his family, an entry in the church Burial Register later recorded him as missing in action in France. His name was also placed on a bronze memorial plaque in the sanctuary of St. Marys United Church, among the members of the congregation who did not come home. He is also commemorated on a bronze plaque on the south side of St. Marys town hall

Major battles and operations

  • To England and onward to the front (1916): Enlisted in Toronto, served with the 123rd Overseas Battalion before being with the 19th Battalion in the field.
  • Vimy Sector (early 1917): Served in the Vimy area and took part in operations there, including the April 1917 fighting.
  • Front line near Fresnoy (7 to 9 May 1917): Moved into front line trenches near Fresnoy, where heavy fighting and bombardment followed. He was reported missing after this action and later presumed killed on 9 May 1917.
  • No known grave: He is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial in France.

Learn More

Veterans Affairs Canada, Canadian Virtual War Memorial, Private John William Payne, service number 767158
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/615163
Library and Archives Canada, First World War personnel files, John William Payne, service number 767158
https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?idnumber=570722&app=pffww&resource=folderlist&ecopy=570036a
Imperial War Museums, Lives of the First World War,
https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/6046997
Canadian Great War Project
https://canadiangreatwarproject.com/person.php?pid=51829
The Fallen, Richard Holt, 767158 Private J.W. Payne, Pg 52