Walter George Bailey DSO, MC and two Bars (9 February 1890 – 20 July 1974), known as Joe Bailey, was an English professional footballer who made over 180 appearances in the Southern League and the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for Reading. An inside forward, he represented England at

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

level and was an all-round sportsman, playing

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

for

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

and

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, hockey for Oxfordshire and later coaching cricket.

Personal life

Bailey attended

Lord Williams's Grammar School Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or a ...

and prior to becoming a professional footballer, he worked as a draper's assistant. In 1921, Bailey retired from professional football to coach

at Warwick School. He also became a

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and later served as a company commander in the Dorset Home Guard during the Second World War.

First World War

In December 1914, four months after the outbreak of the First World War, Bailey enlisted as a lance corporal in the Football Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. The battalion arrived on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

in November 1915 and he was lightly wounded in the face by a rifle grenade in trenches near

Calonne-sur-la-Lys Calonne-sur-la-Lys (, literally ''Calonne on the Lys'') is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A farming village some north of Béthune and west of Lille, at the junction of the D180, D1 ...

in February 1916. In June 1916, Bailey was evacuated back to Britain after a hand, which he had cut on

barbed wire A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is t ...

, turned septic. After recovering, he was commissioned into the Norfolk Regiment in August 1917 and returned to the front. Bailey was serving as a temporary

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

, attached to the

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars, before bein ...

, when he was awarded the Military Cross for his actions on 28 March 1918:

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. When the line had to be reformed under heavy machine-gun fire, this officer moved about, placing the men in the best positions. He then made several journeys to an ammunition dump in front of the line, bringing back ammunition which was much needed. He also brought back a man who was lying wounded in the open.

Bailey was awarded a bar to his Military Cross for his actions on 21 August 1918:

For conspicuous gallantry during an advance. Accompanied by one orderly he rushed a machine-gun post which was holding up the advance of the battalion, and captured 1 officer, 23 men, and 2 machine guns. Later in the day he made a reconnaissance under very heavy fire, and brought back information as to the position of the battalion. Two days later, accompanied by his orderly and two other men, he went forward and attacked two enemy machine guns, scattering the crews and killing several. His utter disregard of danger was magnificent.

He was awarded a second bar to his Military Cross for his actions on 8 October 1918:

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty at Seranvillers on October 8th, 1918. He assembled the troops, and afterwards with a few scouts moved forward with the attack, He cleared the village and, with four men, captured prisoners and machine guns. He reorganised men of the battalion who had lost their companies and then went out and ascertained the enemy's dispositions under very heavy machine-gun and shell fire. Greatly owing to his gallant and determined leadership all objectives were gained.

On 3 October 1919, Bailey received the Distinguished Service Order for his actions on 23 October 1918:

For conspicuous gallantry and able leadership as Battalion Intelligence Officer at Romeries, Escarmain and
Beaudignies Beaudignies () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes ...
on 23 October 1918. He went forward and found that a company had become disorganised owing to the loss of all its officers, and was hesitating to go forward. He immediately took command, rallied the men, and succeeded in getting them to their objective under heavy shell fire. Later, he led them in the assault on the final objective. He showed great skill in consolidating the positions gained and in the disposal of his force.

After the armistice, Bailey was held in such high regard by his regiment that he was sent back to Britain to collect his battalion's Colours and bring them to Germany. He was promoted to a lieutenant in the Suffolk Regiment in February 1919 and later an acting

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in March 1919. Bailey was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

on 8 July 1919.

Career statistics

Honours

* Reading Hall of Fame

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Joe 1890 births 1974 deaths English men's footballers People from Thame Southern Football League players Middlesex Regiment soldiers British Army personnel of World War I Men's association football inside forwards English cricketers of 1890 to 1918 Berkshire cricketers Royal Norfolk Regiment officers Suffolk Regiment officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Military Cross Thame United F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Oxford City F.C. players Reading F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Sittingbourne F.C. players English Football League players England men's amateur international footballers English cricketers British Army officers Oxfordshire cricketers Clapton Orient F.C. wartime guest players People educated at Lord Williams's School English Freemasons British Home Guard officers Military personnel from Oxfordshire Footballers from Oxfordshire