Edward Holland of Ontario, the great-grandson of John (Jack) Payne wrote to us asking if we knew the location of his great-grandparent’s burial sites.  He forwarded the following information about his great grandfather, and what a life it was.

Born in England in 1885, John Payne began his military life in 1902, arriving in South Africa for the Boer War just as it was ending.  He then served in India and Ceylon.  After the outbreak of WWI, John Payne saw action at Mons, Belgium and was wounded during the retreat to France.  The very fact that he survived the bloodbath of Mons is pretty amazing.  According to his daughter, John suffered from the injuries he received throughout the rest of his life.

In 1926, John, his wife Catharine, and their children moved to Bear River in 1926 under the auspices of the Soldier’s Settlement Act.  The family operated a farm in Morganville and John Payne became renowned as a farmer and sportsman.

During the Second World War, John Payne served as a reservist in Canada.

This is an amazing story of how the wheel of fate plays in one’s life.

According to one elder, John Payne was a fox farmer. When the bottom fell out of the fox fur market, John Payne released the remainder of his stock into the wild.  Because of this,  the foxes around Bear River have different colors than the foxes in the rest of the province.  An interesting legacy!

Anyone with any more information about John (Jack) Payne or members of his family that they would like to share, let us know!