PAYNE, Walter (Paine)

Walter Paine was the son of Jonah and Rosanna Paine of 106 Maltmill Lane, Blackheath. He volunteered for the Warwicks and was transferred, probably after returning to the front line after wounds, to the 12th Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment. After a brief stay in France they were sent to Salonika in November 1915 to defend the Greeks against the Bulgarians. This was another hard-fought campaign with most of the fighting around Lake Doiran. After the long winter of 1916-17 the Allies attempted to drive the Bulgarian army out of Greece. The opening battle was at Doiran on the 24th April but it failed to break the stalemate of trench warfare. Private Walter Payne was killed on this day. He was 26 years of age and is commemorated on the Doiran and Halesowen Memorials. His brother, Samuel, was killed in 1918.