Sidney Bailey

Sir Sidney Bailey
Born	27 August 1882
Died	27 March 1942 (1942-03-28) (aged 59)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1896–1939
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	Battlecruiser Squadron Royal Naval College, Greenwich
Battles/wars	Boxer Rebellion World War I
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order

Admiral Sir Sidney Robert Bailey KBE CB DSO (27 August 1882 – 27 March 1942) was a Royal Navy officer who became President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich.

Naval career

Bailey joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in the training ship HMS Britannia in 1896.^[1] He took part in the Seymour Expedition for the relief of Peking in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion and then served in World War I on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Grand Fleet seeing action at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916.^[1] He became naval attaché in Washington, D.C. in 1921, Naval Assistant to the First Sea Lord in 1925 and Chief of Staff of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1931.^[2] He went on to be Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff in 1933, Commander of the Battlecruiser Squadron in 1934 and President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich in 1937 before retiring in 1939.^[2]

In 1935, he faced a court-martial for the collision of HMS Hood and HMS Renown after a training exercise off the Spanish coast on 23 January 1935, as did the captains of the two ships. Bailey was acquitted, but the Admiralty disagreed with the verdict.^[3]

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