Flight Commander Miles Jeffery Game Day , (1 December 1896 – 27 February 1918) was a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

credited with five aerial victories, and also a

war poet War poetry is poetry on the topic of war. While the term is applied especially to works of the First World War, the term can be applied to poetry about any war, including Homer's ''Iliad'', from around the 8th century BC as well as poetry of th ...

Background and education

Jeffery Day, as he was commonly known, was born in St. Ives,

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

, one of four children born to George Dennis Day (1860–1945), a solicitor, and his wife Margaret Jane (née Davis) (1862–1945). He was educated at Sandroyd and

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, private, boarding and day school in the public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England. Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school which was th ...

s.Day (1919), p. 7.

Military career

Day joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

as a probationary flight sub-lieutenant, and was confirmed in the rank of flight sub-lieutenant on 21 August 1915. He received the Royal Aero Club Aviators' Certificate No. 1949 after flying a

Caudron The Société des Avions Caudron was a French aircraft company founded in 1909 as the Association Aéroplanes Caudron Frères by brothers Gaston and René Caudron. It was one of the earliest aircraft manufacturers in France and produced planes for ...

biplane at the Royal Naval Flying School,

Eastchurch Eastchurch is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Sheppey, in the English county of Kent, two miles east of Minster, Swale, Minster. The village website claims the area has "a history steeped in stories of piracy and smugglers". Aviation ...

, on 2 October 1915. He was first stationed aboard the

seaplane carrier A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

, part of the

Harwich Force The Harwich Force originally called Harwich Striking Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War and based in Harwich. It played a significant role in the war. History After the outbreak of the First World War, it ...

, where he gained a reputation as a skilled and daring flyer,Day (1919), p. 16. and was promoted to flight lieutenant on 31 December 1916. Day chafed at the lack of activity at Harwich, and gained a transfer to the

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

.Day (1919), p. 18. Following her grounding in August 1917, he was posted to the experimental air station at RNAS Kingsnorth on the

Isle of Grain Isle of Grain (Old English ''Greon'', meaning gravel) is a village and the easternmost point of the Hoo Peninsula within the unitary authority, district of Medway in Kent, south-east England. Once an island and now forming part of the peninsul ...

.Day (1919), p. 19. Day was already an experienced pilot when he joined No. 13 Squadron RNAS, based at

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

, on 19 December 1917. Between 3 January and 19 February 1918 he scored five victories while flying a

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...

. On 27 February, he was shot down in flames into the sea about 25 miles west of Dunkirk by a German seaplane. According to his commanding officer's report: :"...He was shot down by six German aircraft which he attacked single-handed, out to sea. He had out-distanced his flight, I think because he wished to break the nemy'sformation, in order to make it easier for the less experienced people behind him to attack. He hit the enemy and they hit his machine, which burst into flames; but, not a bit flurried, he nose-dived, flattened out, and landed perfectly on the water. He climbed out of his machine and waved his fellow-pilots back to their base; being in aeroplanes ot sea-planesthey could not assist him."Day (1919), p. 8. A search was immediately launched, but no trace of him was found. Having no known grave, he is commemorated on the

Chatham Naval Memorial Chatham Naval Memorial is a large obelisk situated in the town of Chatham, Kent, which is in the Medway Towns. The memorial is a feature of the Great Lines Heritage Park. The huge expanse of the Great Lines was in its own right a layer of defen ...

, Kent, England.

Honours and awards

;Distinguished Service Cross :Flight Lieutenant (acting Flight Commander) Miles Jeffrey Game Day, RNAS (since killed). :For great skill and bravery as a fighting pilot. On 25 January he attacked, single-handed, six enemy triplanes, one of which he shot down. On 2 February 1918 he attacked and destroyed an enemy two-seater machine on reconnaissance at 18,000 feet. He destroyed several enemy machines in a short space of time, and, in addition, had numerous indecisive engagements.

Poetry

Day began writing poetry during his spare time, initially humorous verses for his fellow officers in the style of

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...

,Day (1919), p. 14. but later, inspired by

Rupert Brooke Rupert Chawner Brooke (3 August 1887 – 23 April 1915The date of Brooke's death and burial under the Julian calendar that applied in Greece at the time was 10 April. The Julian calendar was 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar.) was an En ...

's '' The Old Vicarage, Grantchester'', he began to compose longer serious poems. Only three of these; "On the Wings of the Morning", "An Airman's Dream" and part of "To My Brother", were published in his lifetime, the first in '' Cornhill'', and the other two in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

''.Day (1919), p. 63. "To My Brother" was inspired by the death of his older brother Dennis Ivor Day, who was serving as a second lieutenant in the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...

when he was shot by a sniper at

Vermelles Vermelles () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Vermelles is situated southeast of Béthune and southwest of Lille, at the junction of the D39, D75 and D943 roads and by the banks ...

on 25 September 1915, finally dying from the injury on 7 October. Day's collected poems were published post-war, and two of his poems were anthologized in ''A Treasury of War Poetry, British and American Poems of the World War, 1914-1919'', edited by George Herbert Clarke, and also in ''Cambridge Poets 1914-1920: an Anthology'', compiled by Edward Davison, published in 1920.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Jeffery 1896 births 1918 deaths Military personnel from Cambridgeshire People from St Ives, Cambridgeshire People educated at Sandroyd School People educated at Repton School Royal Naval Air Service aviators Royal Navy officers of World War I British World War I flying aces 20th-century English poets British World War I poets 20th-century English male writers British military personnel killed in World War I Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) English male poets