Lieutenant Colonel Edward Alec Horsman BAILEY DSO
2nd Hertfordshire Battery, 4th East Anglian Brigade, 54th (East Anglian) Divisional Artillery

Date of birth: 16th August 1885
Date of death: 6th January 1938

Died aged 52
Unknown
Edward Alec Horsman Bailey was born at 30 Emperors Gate, Brompton in London on the 16th of August 1885 the eldest son of Colonel Edward Horsman Bailey VD TD, East Surrey Regiment, and Jane (nee Rose) Bailey of "Springfield", Leigham Court Rd, Streatham in Surrey and later of “Foxholes”, Kingham in Oxfordshire. He was christened at St Jude’s Church, Kensington on the 4th of November 1885. He was confirmed by the Bishop of Rochester at St Andrew's Church, Streatham in 1903.

He was educated at Hazelwood School until April 1899 where he was a member of the Cricket XI in 1898 and was a member of the Football XI in 1898. The school magazine wrote the following of his 1898 cricket season: - "A fairly safe field and catch, can hit hard, but his bat and the ball do not often meet."

They wrote the following on his 1898 football season: - "Was just being tried at left half, and seemed likely to do fairly well there, had been keeping goal extremely well."

He went on to Marlborough College where he was in C3 House from May 1908 to July 1902. In 1903 he went on to Merton College Oxford where he rowed for the Leander Club VIII in 1905 and in the Oxford University eight in 1906. He took his Bachelor of Arts degree in January 1908 and Masters in February 1912.

In April 1911 he went to work as Managing Clerk for his father’s firm of Baileys, Shaw and Gillett of 5 Berners Street, London W1.

He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 2nd Hertfordshire Battery, 4th East Anglian Brigade on the 2nd of July 1908 and was promoted to Lieutenant on the 1st of February 1911. He was promoted to Captain on the 1st of June 1912.

He was promoted to Major on the 15th of July 1914 and was mobilised on the outbreak of war being appointed as a Staff Captain on the 5th August 1914 and served on the Staff until the 16th of April 1916 and was promoted to Brigade Major on the same day. He served in that capacity until January 1917. He was promoted to Acting Lieutenant Colonel in 1917 while in command of Brigade, a rank he relinquished on the 21st of January 1918. He was promoted to Acting Lieutenant Colonel once more, while in command of a Brigade, on the 16th of February 1918. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on the 27th of May 1918. He served in the UK in 1914 and 1915 and in France in 1915 and 1916 after which he was posted to Egypt and Palestine from 1916 to 1918. He was invalided home in 1918 with typhus and dysentery and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in the King's New Year’s Honours list of the 1st of January 1918. He was mentioned in dispatches four times. He was demobilised at an Officers Dispersal Unit in London on the 8th of November 1919 and resigned his commission on the 30th of September 1921.

He was married at Goring Parish Church, Oxfordshire to Daphne Katrina (nee Stubbs) on the 17th of July 1915 and they lived at "Wainholm", Toddington in Bedfordshire; they had a son, Ian Guy, born on the 22nd of December 1920. He was a member of White’s Club in St James and lived on his own means. He became a Freemason on the 24th of October 1919 and was a member of the Earl of Mornington Lodge No. 2,000.

He died at home.

His brother, Major Guy Horsman Bailey MC L Battery, 15th Brigade Royal Field Artillery, was killed in action on the 28th of February 1917.

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