Born in Saint Helena, Bailey's father was a soldier, and the family returned to England in 1857, settling at Bargate (near West Row), Suffolk. Bailey worked on a farm from the age of nine, then when he was fourteen moved to work at Fence Colliery near Sheffield. He later transferred to Beighton Colliery, then Norwood Colliery, just over the border in Derbyshire. He was elected as the pit's checkweighman, and also became active in the South Yorkshire Miners' Association (SYMA).Joyce Bellamy and John Saville, Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol. II, pp. 30-31
