[2][3] Payne arrived in the United Kingdom in 1947 and signed up with the Tamworth Hounds in the National League Division Three.
After scoring almost three hundred points for the Hounds, he was subject to a failed transfer to Wimbledon[4] before he was transferred to the Birmingham Brummies for £500, a record fee for a third division rider at that time.
Payne struck up an excellent partnership with Brummies captain Stan Dell[1] and the Brummies were promoted from National League Division Two at the end of the 1948 season.
It was with the Brummies his career flourished, reaching the World Final three times in four years, finishing fifth in his second appearance.
[7] In September 2015, it was noted that Payne, aged 91, was living in the Hervey Bay area of Queensland, and still regularly played golf.