John Day

John born in Stamford on 27th January 1895 was the son of Mary Ann Day. They lived with Mary’s parents, William, a Great Northern railway platelayer and Jane, who was born in Deeping St. James, Lincolnshire. Jane gave birth to 17 children, 9 of whom died in infancy. In 1905 Mary, aged 39, married David Trowell, aged 68. They had five children so John had a large extended family of half-brothers and sisters.

Mary and David lived at 20 Lumby’s Terrace but John stayed with his grandparents. He was brought up with their son, Ernest and his brothers George and Bill at 14 Lumby’s Terrace. John and George both attended St Martins school together.

On leaving school John took a job as a labourer at Hunt’s Brewery but in 1913 he went to work for the GNR as a cleaner.
In 1911 he enlisted in the 4th East Anglian Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, a unit of Britain’s Territorial Force, in Northamptonshire on a five-year contract. As driver 4215 he worked with horses, preparing them for service abroad with the Horse Artillery pulling the Field Guns.

During WWI he was conscripted from the Territorials and served one year and 206 days as a full-time soldier. He was discharged on 22nd February 1916 at the end of his contract with no medals or awards, having never been posted abroad. He was assessed as fit and of good character, 5ft 8ins tall with blue eyes and dark brown hair.

He is seen here with fellow soldiers and two of the horses they were training.

John Day, driving last Stamford to Essendine train

After the war he stayed with the railway, progressing to a fireman and then an engine driver. He was well-known in Stamford as Jack Day, the driver of the “Essendine Flier”, the train taking passengers from Stamford East station in Water Street to join the East Coast main line at Essendine. The East station closed to passengers in March 1957 and the train then ran from Stamford Town station. John is shown driving the last train when the service to Essendine finally closed in June 1959.

He then became a groundsman at Burghley Park cricket club.

He was a successful sportsman all his life, playing cricket and football for several local teams and also a keen fisherman. In 1922 he married Florence Elizabeth Smith in Uffington church and they lived in Stamford, first in a cottage in Newtown then in Bath Row. Finally they moved to a new-built house at 38 Green Lane. They had one daughter, Jean, and three grandchildren.

When John died in December 1967 at the age of 72, his life was celebrated with a full page obituary in the Stamford Mercury.