John Joseph Day
Memorial: South Gloucestershire war dead not on a local memorial
Regiment: Somerset Light Infantry
Medals: British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Private 34322
Parents: William Charles and Susannah Jane Day
Marital status: Single
Home address: Hunters Hall, Soundwell Road, Kingswood, Bristol
Date of birth: 1892
Place of birth: St. George, Bristol
Date of death: 28/04/1917
Buried/Commemorated at: No known burial site but commemorated at Arras Memorial, Pas de Calais, France. Not commemorated on a local memorial.
Age: 24
Further information:
John was born in St. George, Bristol, the son of a railway worker and a middle child of five with three sisters and a brother. His older brother George, who had also served in France, died four months after John of illness aggravated by war service.
John, like his older brother, enlisted in the North Somerset Yeomanry (2106) but then transferred to the 8th Battalion, Prince Albert's Somerset Light Infantry Regiment. John and his battalion mobilised to France in September 1915 where they fought in the Battle of Loos and The Battles of The Somme. John reportedly died of wounds during the Battle of Arleux, one of the Battles of Arras (April 1917 – 16 May 1917) but his body was never found. The Battle of Arras, which became a costly stalemate for both sides, resulted in 158,000 allied casualties. The Arras Memorial where John is remembered, commemorates 35,000 soldiers of the British, South African and New Zealand forces with no known grave, nearly all of whom died during this battle.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/