Comments on: So Long, Grace Payne https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/01/03/so-long-grace-payne/ In the midst of life I woke to find myself living in an old house beside Brick Lane in the East End of London Tue, 06 Jan 2026 14:05:17 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 By: Margaret-Anne https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/01/03/so-long-grace-payne/#comment-1896871 Tue, 06 Jan 2026 14:05:17 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=205793#comment-1896871 I only had the pleasure of meeting Grace a handful of times but that was enough to know what a remarkable a lady she was.
This was an incredible piece which was a delight to read, thank you.
Rest in peace Grace x

]]> By: Amanda https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/01/03/so-long-grace-payne/#comment-1896867 Tue, 06 Jan 2026 13:35:28 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=205793#comment-1896867 Grace Payne. The title jumped out, hoping this admired, intrepid character might be a relative. Payne by marriage to Dr Douglas Sutherland Payne of the Royal College of Science, also much respected and mourned by his colleagues. Wonderful to be married at St Bartholomew the Great in the tangible historic atmosphere of Smithfields.

My great grandmother was Mary Ann Hannah PAYNE christened in Schroedinger’s church St Leonard’s, Shoreditch in 1840. Born Mile End. I went to find their addresses, sadly demolished.

Some time after his very fortunate adoption, l went to stand on those well worn church flagstones where both Shroedinger wandered and my Great Great Grandparents had held their small baby at the baptism.

RIP dear Grace RIP dear Shroedinger Epiphany 2026

]]> By: Debra. E. Sewell https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/01/03/so-long-grace-payne/#comment-1894899 Sat, 03 Jan 2026 14:00:02 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=205793#comment-1894899 A marvelous, smart and brilliant lady !! She created a great life and seemed a happy kind and loving soul.

Proud of whom she was and kind to others. Plus at 101 YEARS OLD SHE STILL HAD HER OWN TEETH.. Even in midst of War all around them..she found joy and friends..

Thank you for sharing her life with us. And thank you for photos ..it always touches my heart. to see face of people..

Thank you

Debra

]]> By: Kate Bacon https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/01/03/so-long-grace-payne/#comment-1894897 Sat, 03 Jan 2026 13:56:20 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=205793#comment-1894897 Not forgetting Patrica Niven’s beautiful portraits!

]]> By: Kate Bacon https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/01/03/so-long-grace-payne/#comment-1894896 Sat, 03 Jan 2026 13:55:07 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=205793#comment-1894896 What a beautiful interview (I love all of Sarah Winman’s writing) and what an amazing life Grace lived. Rest in Peace.

]]> By: achim https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/01/03/so-long-grace-payne/#comment-1894844 Sat, 03 Jan 2026 12:48:10 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=205793#comment-1894844 What a wonderful story, what a wonderful woman. At 101 years old, she certainly had a long and fulfilling life. — My first teddy bear sits with me on my sofa. And Grace’s is now all alone. Oh, if only I could adopt that old English bear!

Dear GRACE PAYNE (1924-2025) – R.I.P.

Love & Peace
ACHIM

]]> By: NF https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/01/03/so-long-grace-payne/#comment-1894740 Sat, 03 Jan 2026 06:44:33 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=205793#comment-1894740 A light emanates from her. In the photograph of her and her classmates, in the days before people typically smiled in photographs, she’s smiling.

This piece calls up a world that is almost completely gone. Soon all the personal accounts of wartime England will come to an end. Her memory of going up to the flat roof to collect the shrapnel from the night before is extraordinary to a modern-day reader; I don’t think I’ll ever forget this: “One morning, I found cans of fruit on the roof that had blown over from an exploding warehouse.”

Thank you, GA, and RIP Grace Payne

]]> By: Marcia Howard https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/01/03/so-long-grace-payne/#comment-1894731 Sat, 03 Jan 2026 06:19:47 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=205793#comment-1894731 What an amazing lady. It must have been a priviledge to have known her. Rest in peace Grace.

]]>