British furniture designer Robin Day was born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire on May 25th 1915, the second son of a policeman, and grew up among the workshops of its thriving furniture industry.

After studying at High Wycombe Technical Institute and High Wycombe School of Art, and working as a draftsman in a local furniture factory, he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in London.However, as the RCA could offer little tuition in furniture design, he was largely self-taught. He took his Diploma in Design in 1937, and was awarded a Continuation Scholarship to study for a further year.

War broke out the year after he had left college. Finding no openings in the wartime furniture industry, he taught part-time and took on whatever freelance work he could get, such as making drawings and models for architects.