Selected Biographies

Day, Charles Henry Ÿ Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 15.3.1873.  Parents: Alfred Day (Agricultural Labourer) and Emma Rosina [née Bigg].  Family Connections: Brother to William Robert Day [b1878].  Home: High Street, Long Melford (1881 and 1891), Bentley Farm, Framfield, Sussex (1901).  Occupation: Agricultural Labourer (1891) Milk Boy on Farm (1901), Horseman on Dunton’s Farm, Lavenham [1916].  Service Record: At the Melford Military Service Tribunal in March 1916 Mr E. P. Woollett of Duntons Farm at Lavenham, Day’s employer applied for his exemption.  Before the War he employed eight men now he is left with four men and a boy to look after and work eight horses.  Charles Day was granted three months exemption from conscription.  Although no definitive military record has been found, he may have attested on 1.7.1916 as Spr.WR/338340 with the Inland Waterways and Docks Section of the Royal Engineers.  If this assumption is correct, then he was issued with a Silver War Badge and discharged on 28.1.1919 due to sickness.[1]

Day, Fred Ÿ Born: Alpheton, Suffolk in 1882.  Parents: Henry Day of Long Melford (Agricultural Labourer) and Elizabeth Bennett.  Home: Lower Road, Bridge Street, Alpheton, Suffolk (1891 and 1901), Bridge Street, Long Melford (1911).  Occupation: Agricultural Labourer (1901 and 1911), Traction Engine Driver on Rowhedge Farm in Alpheton [1916].  Married: possibly to Annie P. Allen in 1916.  Service Record: At the Long Melford Military Service Tribunal in March 1916 his employer Herbert Harvey of Rowhedge Farm applied for his exemption, which was granted on the condition his situation remained unchanged.  It is not known if Fred Day’s certificate remained valid until the end of hostilities, however no definitive military record has been found which might suggest otherwise.[2]

Day, Robert Henry Ÿ Born: Lavenham, Suffolk on 2.10.1876.  Parents: William Day (Agricultural Labourer) and Anna [née Parker].  Family Connections: Brother-in-law of Alfred George Eady [b1874], William Thomas Eady [b1880], Harry Walter Eady [b1881] and Albert Bertie Eady [b1884].  Home: Pound Lane, Lavenham, Suffolk (1881 and 1891), lodging with Thomas Eady (Father-in-Law) at Chestnut Terrace, Hall Street, Long Melford (1911), Bradfield Combust, Suffolk [1916], 4 Hall Road, Lavenham (1939) to [1951].  Occupation: Coachman (1911) Chauffeur [1916], Gardener (1939).  Married: Agnes Rose Eady of Long Melford in 1905.  Service Record: Robert attested on 30.11.1915 but not mobilised until 22.6.1916 as Pte.6831, later Pte.290410 with 5^th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment.  Robert transferred on 1.1.1917 to 11^th Battalion, Norfolks, then as Pte.429114 to 667^th Agricultural Company, Labour Corps on 27.10.1917, receiving his discharge in April 1919.  Died: Sudbury, Suffolk on 31.10.1951.[3]

Day, William Robert Ÿ Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 1.5.1878.  Parents: Alfred Day (Agricultural Labourer) and Emma Rosina [née Bigg].  Family Connections: Brother to Charles Henry Day [b1873].  Home: High Street, Long Melford (1881 and 1891), 44 Cambridge Road, Hounslow, Middlesex (1911), Syringa Cottage, Godshill, Isle of Wight, Hampshire [1913].  Occupation: Soldier [1898 to 1913].  Married: Daisy Elizabeth Griffin in 1909.  Service Record: William enlisted in 1898 as Pte.4923 with the Suffolk Regiment, recorded as a Corporal on the UK Census for 1911, transferring in 1912 as Cpl.6959 to 2^nd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers [City of London] Regiment, being discharged as medically unfit in 1913.  It is not known if he saw service during the First World War as no extant record has been found.[4]

Notes – [1] Date of birth from the Baptism Register 1.6.1873, Holy Trinity, Long Melford.  For the Tribunal’s ruling see Suffolk and Essex Free Press 15.3.1916.  The assumption that Charles was conscripted into the Royal Engineers is based on the Service Medal and Award Rolls, First World War, Silver War Badge [WO 329] record [ref: B107907] which shows the age at discharge in 1919 as 46 years.  See also his proposed Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [2] For the Tribunal’s ruling see Suffolk and Essex Free Press 22.3.1916.  [3] Date of birth from the 1939 Register for Cosford Rural District, Suffolk.  See also his Soldiers’ Documents, First World War ‘Burnt Documents’ [WO 363].  Date of death from the National Probate Calendar.  [4] Date of birth from the Baptism Register 4.8.1878, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford.  See also his Chelsea Hospital British Army Service Record [WO 97] up to 1913.