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Ernest
Payne's talent was first noticed at Boughton Park in Worcester.
He
borrowed his brother's cycle, "and it was seen at once that
he was going to be a champion" according to a T W Badgery at
a golden jubilee dinner in 1938.
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| Ernest
Payne |
He
was stockily built standing five feet six and a half inches and
weighing ten stone seven pounds.
He
was trained by his brother Walter, himself a successful racing cyclist,
and also assisted by Arthur Hale, brother of a fine Worcester racing
cyclist, Frederick Hale.
Ernest
Payne's first race was in the summer of 1902, on 14th July at Stourbridge.
Having
fallen in his first race, "smashing his machine", he won
the half mile handicap on a borrowed machine from the seventy five
yard mark.
During
his first season he raced in fourteen track events at a half and
one mile, winning thirteen and coming second in the other.
By
the end of June 1903, Ernest Payne had already made a name for himself,
being referred to as "the Worcester Wonder" in The
Cyclist.
He
made his name on grass tracks initially, but proved to be equally
at home on permanent tracks.
Ernest
entered and won various races around the country, and the Challenge
Cup, of 450 ounces of silver, became his own property after a further
win at the 1904 Whitsun meeting in Bath.
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| Ernest
Payne with his trophies: 1910 |
It
was reputedly the largest cup ever offered for a competition in
England, standing some four feet from the ground.
In
his first season, Payne used a locally-made machine, but in 1903
he rode an Imperial Rover, having also changed his tyres from Dunlop
Road Racing to Dunlop Sprint tyres.
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| Ernest
Payne: English, British Empire, Olympic and Midland Champion |
Ernest
Payne was an amateur rider and worked as a carpenter.
He
was fortunate that his employer allowed him time off to travel to
events.
As
a thank-you, he presented his employer with a gold watch.
His
winning ride was in the team pursuit held in London at Shepherd's
Bush stadium in 1908, which was raced over 1,810 metres.
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| Gold
medal winners in the Olympic Games pursuit: 1908 Clarrie Kingsbury,
Leon Meredith, Ben Jones, Ernest Payne |
Riding
with Ben Jones, C B Kingsbury and Leon Meredith, he led his team
to victory with superb pace-making over the last two laps.
They
defeated the German team by ten seconds in 2:18.6.
Ernest
Payne's racing career seems to have finished in 1910.
He
played football also in 1910 for Worcester Early Closers, and was
then signed for Worcester City, being in the team that won the Birmingham
League back in 1912.
It's
also reported in a Worcester St John's Cycling Club memoir that
he made first team appearances on the right wing for Manchester
United.
Ernest
Payne died in 1961.
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