GROUPS AND SINGLE DECORATIONS FOR GALLANTRY 1918: Spring Offensive - prisoner of war
The investiture ceremony for Day’s Victoria Cross was held at Buckingham Palace, 9 January 1918. As well as meeting the King, he also received a hero’s welcome when he returned to his home city. A civic reception was held for him at Norwich Guildhall, and a parade of the Church Lads’ Brigade in Lakenham was held in his honour.
Day returned to the 11th Battalion in time for the German Spring Offensive of 1918. He was wounded and taken prisoner of war during the offensive. The Battalion were particularly engaged 21-23 March, as part of the battle of St. Quentin, and 10-17 April as part of the battle of the Lys. The 11th Battalion suffered heavy casualties, in addition to having a large number of men taken prisoner during the German onslaught. Day was a reported as ‘Missing’, 10 April 1918, and later confirmed as a prisoner of war, 7 June 1918. He was initially hospitalised before being interned at Langensalza for the remainder of the conflict. Day returned to the UK after the Armistice, and transferred to the Army Reserve in April 1919. He was a member of the VC Guard for the internment of the Unknown Warrior, 11 November 1920.
1941: One final brush with the Germans
Having left the army, Day struggled to find employment and was forced to retrain as part of a Government scheme. He was eventually employed by the Norwich Electricity Department, before deciding to try pastures new and moving to Fratton in Hampshire. Day went into business with his wife, and opened the ‘Sidney Day VC Tea Rooms’ in The Arcade, off Edinburgh Road, Portsmouth. His survival instinct was to save him one last time, when his home and business were destroyed by a German air raid, 10 January 1941. During 1941 Portsmouth suffered three major ‘Blitz’ raids, on 10 January, 10 March and 27 April, with the first one leading to casualties of 170 people killed and over 400 injured.
Day subsequently found work as a messenger in the Naval Dockyards of Portsmouth, however, his health began to rapidly decline and he was forced to retire in 1948. Day was admitted to St Mary's Hospital with tuberculosis in 1955 and stayed for 7 months. His health continued to decline and he was admitted to Queen Alexandra's Hospital where he died soon after on 17 July 1959. He is buried in Milton Cemetery, Portsmouth.
A commemorative stone was dedicated to Sidney Day in front of the Norwich War Memorial, 26 August 2017 - exactly 100 years after his gallantry in the trenches near Hargicourt.
Sold with the following related items and documents: Silver cigarette case (hallmarks for Birmingham 1915), lid engraved ‘To Lance Corpl. S. J. Day from the parents Lieut. T. T. Stevens Sept. 26th 1915.’; field compass in leather case, the case with shrapnel damage; named certificates for both Coronation Medals; Certificate of Transfer to Reserve; invitation to the Prince of Wales’ Dinner in the House of Lords for V.C. recipients, 9 November 1929, with Programme of Events, the latter signed by Sergeant D. Laidlaw, V.C. and Sergeant A. E. Egerton, V.C.; a copy of the List by Services and Regiments for the march to Buckingham Palace as part of the Garden Party for recipient’s of the Victoria Cross, 26 June 1920; Programme for the Victoria Cross Review of Holders of the Decoration by Her Majesty The Queen, Hyde Park, 26 June 1956, with a copy of Order of Form Up for Holders of the Decoration on Parade; Programme for the Corporation of London Reception at Guildhall to Mark the Centenary of the institution of the Victoria Cross, 27 June 1956, back cover with a number of signatures of V.C. recipients; enclosure from the Board of Trade under the War Damage Act for the settlement of £45.19s.-5d. to recipient in lieu of the destruction of his Tea Rooms and home; a quantity of photographs (some annotated) from various stages of recipient’s service career, and a portrait photograph of Lieutenant T. T. Stevens in uniform; various newspaper cuttings and other ephemera.
Day and family in front of the Sidney Day V.C. Tea Rooms, Portsmouth, prior to the destruction by the Luftwaffe
www.dnw.co.uk
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