Willie Payne obituary by Val Wilmer

My friend Willie Payne, who has died aged 94, was a Nigerian actor and dancer from the generation of West Africans who arrived in the UK as seamen during the second world war.He was born William Ishola Payne in Lagos, the son of Ishmael, a civil servant of Ijebu descent, and his wife, Angelina (nee Johnson). His paternal great-grandfather, John Augustus Ontonba Payne, served in the British administration of Nigeria i…

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