Payne Family Knaphill / Bisley

A Memory of Knaphill.

I have enjoyed reading the 'Memories of Knaphill' contributions, and though I have not lived there myself, my Payne family did, so thought I might share a few of their memories! In the 1890's, Captain George Payne and his wife Eliza, lived in Victoria House, 1 Victoria Terrace, near the Inkerman Barracks. George was a master grocer and baker. He later became a Lieutenant in HM Army. He was one of the first to breed the prized 'leghorn' poultry, he also kept bees and bred pigs at one stage. For this, he became known as 'Mr Piggy Payne' to the local children. Apparently, the local hunts would gather at the Payne residence for the customary drink, before departing on the hunt. My grandmother, as a young girl, would help pass the drinks as they gathered around on their horses. Later in life, George lived at 'Le Chalet', Bisley - on the corner of Queens Road, bordering on the Bisley Rifle range, I believe. Previous to that, the family had lived at 'Loam Pits', a little bungalow near 'Le Chalet'. I believe 'Le Chalet' was made into two bungalows after the war, and then was later pulled down and a bungalow built on the ground. His wife Eliza, died in 1912, apparently she never fully recovered from a vehicle accident some years before. Apparently, George married his French housekeeper (Lucy Elizabeth) sometime after Eliza's death. Of their nine children - two died as infants, five emigrated to Australia and one to Canada. That left one daughter behind in England. Their granddaughter Winifred CONNEL (my grandmother), came out to Western Australia in 1914. Later in the war years ....war time food parcels used to arrive both from Canada and Australia with goodies unknown in our shops! - to the family left behind in England. Thankyou for sharing in my 'memories', it would be lovely to be transported back to that era to witness life in Knaphill as it was then. Coleen.

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