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Harry Melville Arbuthnot Day, (3 August 1898 – 11 March 1977) was a Royal Marine and later a Royal Air Force pilot during the Second World War. As a prisoner of war, he was senior British officer in a number of camps and a noted escapee.
Day's great-uncle was George Fiott Day, who had won the Victoria Cross during the Crimean War. He is also a descendant of George Miller Bligh, who was an officer on during the Battle of Trafalgar.
Day was sent to England and was educated at Haileybury College, where he joined the Officers Training Corps. While on manoeuvres, he was wounded when shot in the back with a blank cartridge.
Day joined the Royal Marines in 1916 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 31 August.
On 9 November 1918, two days before the armistice, the ship was torpedoed and sunk. Day distinguished himself by twice returning below deck, through smoke and flames, to rescue two injured men trapped inside, including the wardroom steward. For this act of bravery, Day was awarded the Albert Medal (sea, second class). In 1971, all Albert Medal holders became eligible to exchange their award for a George Cross, which Day did.
Later Day commanded the marine detachment of at the burning of Smyrna, helping to evacuate Greek survivors of the Turkish massacres. He also saw service with the fleet during the League of Nations involvement at Memel. Wings Day by Sydney Smith, page 27
Day stayed with the Royal Marines until 1924, when he moved to the Fleet Air Arm. On 16 June 1924, he received a temporary commission as a flying officer in the Royal Air Force while on a four-year attachment. He was promoted to flight lieutenant on 1 July 1928 before receiving a permanent commission in the same rank on 21 June 1930 (seniority from 1 July).
Day joined No. 23 Squadron RAF flying , with which he led the RAF Synchronised Aerobatics Display Team, which included Douglas Bader at the 1931 Hendon Air Show, Reach for the Sky by Paul Brickhill, page 41 and other displays. He held posts at RAF Abu Sueir and Khartoum, was promoted to squadron leader on 1 August 1936, holding commands at RAF Aboukir and RAF Netheravon before commanding the Advanced Flying Training School at Little Rissington. Wire & Walls by Charles Rollings, page 246
When war was imminent Day was promised a staff job at RAF Bomber Command headquarters, but he requested to join an operational squadron. This was approved, and on 1 July 1939 he was promoted to wing commander and placed in command of No. 57 Squadron RAF, stationed at RAF Upper Heyford.
In fact, Day had been sending intelligence back home in coded letters, and together with other members of the permanent staff, including Roger Bushell, Jimmy Buckley and Johnnie Dodge, he had been active in construction of a tunnel, starting from under his bed, which was completed in the spring of 1941. Wings Day by Sydney Smith, page 71
In June 1941, Day and 17 others tunnelled out of the camp. This was the first mass escape of the war. Day travelled on foot alone, aiming to walk down the Moselle Valley and into France, but was recaptured five days later, looking like a tramp. Wings Day by Sydney Smith page 77 All the escapers were recaptured and after spending a few days in jail at Frankfurt am Main, were transferred to Stalag Luft I.WO208/3269 Official Camp History – Dulag Luft Chapter II Para 24 Major Rumpel congratulated Day on his attempt.'Wings Day by Sydney Smith page 79
Day partly oversaw a mass escape attempt in August 1941 when 12 officers tried to escape using a tunnel; however, the escape was discovered as the third person left the exit, and all three escapers were recaptured.WO208/3282 Official Camp History – SL1 – Chapter II para 24
In October 1942, Day was sent to Oflag XXI-B at Szubin in German-occupied Poland where in March 1943 he escaped through the latrine tunnel with William Ash, Peter Stevens, Aidan Crawley and others. This time Day headed east to Poland, hoping to get on a ship to Sweden. He was recaptured and sent back to Szubin, before being transferred back to Sagan.
After a brief stay in the local jail, Day was taken to Berlin and was interviewed by Arthur Nebe, the man who selected the 50 escapers to be murdered, which included Tobolski. Day was spared execution. Day later said that Hitler had ordered his execution personally, but that Hermann Göring had asked him to relent because Day and his family were so well known to the public.
In February 1945, Day was transferred to Dachau via Flossenburg. In April 1945, he was transferred to South Tyrol together with other prominent prisoners. He made one final escape attempt in the final weeks of the war when the prisoners had limited freedom within the city limits while being held in Villa Bassa (now Niederdorf). On 28 April, Day stole a Volkswagen and drove to the Allied lines where he informed the Allied Forces of the hostage situation in Tyrol. However, the following day, one of the German prisoners, Colonel von Bonin, telephoned Captain Wichard von Alvensleben in nearby Bolzano, asking him to send his Wehrmacht unit to Villa Bassa to protect the prisoners from the SS guards. The Wehrmacht troops freed the hostages on 30 April after forcing their guards to flee.
For his services while a prisoner, Day was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. He was also awarded the United States Legion of Merit in the degree of Officer for his services to American POWs.
The book Wings Day by Sydney Smith is an account of Day's exploits as a prisoner of war. Smith was also a POW and was held with Day for several years. Day also features in Reach for the Sky, the biography of Douglas Bader by Paul Brickhill; and The Great Escape, also by Brickhill. He was the subject of the television programme This Is Your Life in November 1961.
Married to Margo, Day lived mainly on the Isle of Wight or at 6 Trevor Square, London. He died in the Blue Sisters Hospital, Malta, on 11 March 1977, aged 78.
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