Tributes for Melton man who was council’s longest ever tenant

Family members say Leslie never got over the death of his wife, Joyce, around 15 months ago.

The couple were inseperable while being married for 74 years and were often seen walking hand in hand around the town.

They had six children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren and lived in the same Jarvis Drive house for 67 years.

Son David said: “Dad just seemed to go downhill in the last few weeks.

“He never talked about losing mum because he was very shy and not much of a talker.

“But we knew as a family that it was a big blow for him.

“They were very close.”

The couple went through a fair amount of tragedy with son Colin committing suicide and another son, Stuart - a well known local wedding photographer - being killed when a motorcycle hit his bicycle.

“It was shattering for them both as well as us all as a family the way we lost Colin and Stuart,” said David.

Leslie was born into a large family in February 1926 in Melton and after leaving school he worked at a shop on Park Road and then as a moulder at Holwell Iron Works for more than 30 years.

He had wanted to join the Navy to help with the Second World War effort but failed a medical.

His life changed forever when he met Joyce and he set about wooing her while she was at work.

David explained: “Mum was an usherette at The Regal Cinema and dad used to go back to see films more than once so he could see her.”

They started dating and married at St Mary’s Church in the town on September 15, 1945.

The couple originally rented a house on New Street before taking over the tenancy of a council property in Jarvis Drive in March 1953, living there for the rest of their lives.

When they first moved in they looked out over open fields because not many of the current houses there had been built at the time.

They could watch steam trains pulling into the railway station which was there back then, where QD Stores is located on Scalford Road now.

They never missed a week’s rent and Leslie had kept rent cards dating back to his first year at the house.

A small presentation was made to him earlier this year by the council’s tenants’ forum to mark his achievement in being the authority’s longest serving tenant since council housing was established by the Addison Act in 1919.

The couple loved attending a dancing club at Gloucester House for many years after joining in the sixties.

Leslie had a great love of photography and took pictures as part of his working life at Holwell Works.

He snapped wedding photos and portraits professionally in the 1960s and 1970s after leaving the plant and worked for a time with son, Stuart.

David added: “Dad was a very proud man and made sure he was always dressed properly when he went into town.

“He always seemed to be with mum - neither of them could drive so they would walk everywhere, always together.”

Councillor Alan Pearson, borough council portfolio holder for housing and communities, said they had learned of Mr Payne’s death ‘with great sorrow’.

He told the Melton Times: “Leslie showed great pride in his home and garden, and his commitment and attention to detail around his home was a great example to all residents, either council or private.

“Mr Payne’s 67 years as a council tenant is the longest in Melton borough’s history.

“We would like to extend our sympathies to the Payne family following their sad loss.”

David and his surviving siblings, Kevin, Sandra and Shirley, have organised a funeral service for their father for November 27, at Loughborough Crematoriuim, with only a small number of mourners due to Covid restrictions.