Derek Day

Sir Derek Day was educated at Hurstpierpoint College, then, after two years’ National Service in the Royal Artillery, at St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge. At the 1952 Olympics, Day was the first-choice goalie for the British team and played in all British matches at the tournament except the bronze medal match, suggesting that the substitute goalkeeper, Graham Dadds, was given a chance to play.

Day joined the Foreign Service from university in 1951 and after postings in Tel Aviv and Roma, he spent several years in a small Foreign Office unit which liaised with MI6, followed by a four-year posting as information officer at the British Embassy in Washington. In 1966 Day spent a brief period writing speeches for the Permanent Secretary and Secretary of State before being appointed an assistant private secretary to the Foreign Secretary, George Brown. When Brown resigned from government, the Foreign and Commonwealth Offices were merged and Day went on to serve in the private office of Michael Stewart, the first Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

In 1972 Day was posted as a counsellor to Cyprus and in 1975 he was appointed as ambassador to Ethiopia. In 1979 he was appointed a government representative to Rhodesia and after two years as Chief Clerk at the Foreign Office, he served as High Commissioner to Canada, from 1984 until his retirement in 1987. Following his retirement Day became vice-chairman of the British Red Cross, and served as a Commonwealth War Graves commissioner.