Sidney James Day

Corporal Sidney James Day VC

Sidney James Day was born in Norwich, Norfolk, England, on 3 July 1891. He was the youngest of nine children of William and Elizabeth Day. Before the First World War he worked as a butcher, an ordinary trade for a man who would later show quite extraordinary courage.

Day enlisted during the First World War and served with the Suffolk Regiment. He saw heavy fighting on the Western Front and was seriously wounded during the Battle of the Somme in 1916, receiving four wounds. After several months of recovery in England, he returned to active service in France.

On 26 August 1917, east of Hargicourt, France, Corporal Day was serving with the 11th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment. He was in command of a bombing section ordered to clear a complex system of enemy-held trenches. During the advance, he pressed forward under dangerous conditions, killed two enemy machine-gunners, and captured four prisoners.

Soon afterwards, while Day and his men were consolidating the captured trench, a German stick grenade landed among them. Without hesitation, he seized the grenade and threw it out of the trench. It exploded almost immediately, but his action saved the lives of the men around him.

Day then continued the work of clearing the enemy trench system and helped establish an advanced position. For the next sixty-six hours he and his men held that position under heavy shellfire and bombing attacks. His gallantry, coolness, and leadership under sustained fire earned him the Victoria Cross.

He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at Hargicourt, and the decoration was presented to him by King George V at Buckingham Palace in January 1918.

Day’s war did not end with the award. He later returned to France, was wounded again during the German Spring Offensive of 1918, and was taken prisoner by the Germans. He remained a prisoner of war until after the Armistice.

After the war, Sidney Day lived in Portsmouth, where he later ran a tea room. During the Second World War, on 10 January 1941, his home and business were destroyed in a German air raid during the Blitz. Once again, he survived disaster.

Corporal Sidney James Day VC died at Queen Alexandra’s Hospital, Portsmouth, on 17 July 1959, aged 68. He is buried in Milton Cemetery, Portsmouth.

His medals included the Victoria Cross, 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal, King George VI Coronation Medal 1937, and Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal 1953.

Sidney James Day was a butcher’s apprentice from Norwich who endured wounds, captivity, and bombing, yet is remembered above all for one clear act of battlefield courage: picking up a live grenade and throwing it away from his comrades.