Ernest Payne

Ernest Payne's cycling talent was spotted at Boughton Park in Worcester. T W Badgery of the Worcester St Johns Cycling Club (speaking at a golden jubilee dinner in 1938) said that he borrowed his brother's bicycle "and it was seen at once that he was going to be a champion". Payne joined the St Johns club in 1903. Payne was stocky, five feet six and a half inches (17 cm) tall and weighing ten stone and seven pounds (3.2 kg). He was trained by his brother Walter, a successful racing cyclist. Walter's assistant was Arthur Hale, brother of Worcester racing cyclist Frederick Hale. Payne's first race was in 1902, on 14 July at Stourbridge. He crashed and damaged his bicycle but went on to win the half-mile handicap (handicap 75 yards) on a borrowed bike. During his first season, he won 13 of 14 track races (coming second in the other). He specialised in half and one-mile races. By the end of June 1903, he was referred to as "the Worcester Wonder" in The Cyclist. The majority of his racing was on grass, but he proved at home on permanent velodromes. One of his major trophies was the Challenge Cup. The cup contained 450 ozt (14 kg) of silver and was 4 feet (1.2 m) high. He won it outright at the 1904 Whitsun meeting in Bath, Somerset. He won more than 150 races, including regional, national, British Empire, and Olympic championships. 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…