Soame James Rayment, the son of William Rayment, a farm labourer, and his wife Dinah Rayment née Long, was born on 1st April 1882 in Longmeadow, Bottisham, Cambridgeshire, England.

Although he was born the fourth of ten children (six girls and four boys) he was the eldest son and was put to work as a groom after leaving school.

He never married but, except for a short period in 1911 working as a general labourer in a flour mill at Erith in Kent with a relative of his mother, and his Army service, he lived and worked for most of his life as a farm labourer in the Bottisham area.

On 17th March 1915, at the age of 32, he enlisted as a volunteer to serve in the First World War as a Private in the 18th Middlesex Regiment.  He served in France in the Cuinchy sectors, Somme, Arras and Ypres and was promoted to Lance-Corporal.  He was wounded twice and was discharged due to wounds on 11th March 1918, having served almost three years.

He returned to England and lived in Longmeadow, where he died in June 1959 at the age of 77 years.