I didn't know until I watched the program that Thomas Paine had lived for 6 years in the English town of Lewes, and it is said Lewes is where he formed his political views.There's a Thomas Paine Society UK, the house he lived in, in Lewes is a historical site, and there's also a statue of him in Lewes.
from article:
Washington and Paine were unlikely comrades from the outset. In 1776, Washington was a Virginia planter with deep roots in America, august in manner if not yet experienced in military achievement. Paine was an English urbanite, a refugee from failure as tobacco shop owner and excise officer who had arrived in Philadelphia in 1775 and found a last-ditch vocation as writer and activist. Washington was reserved; Paine talked constantly. Washington was fastidious about clothes and cleanliness; Paine was not noted for hygiene. But during the War for Independence they became close allies and fast friends.