Sir John Bilsland Bailey (5 November 1928 – 22 February 2021) was a British

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

and public servant. Bailey was born in

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three ...

, London to Walter Bailey, who ran the Lord Derby pub opposite Woolwich Arsenal, and composer Ethel Edith Bilsland, who married secondly Sir Thomas George Spencer, a telecommunications executive. His first cousin was actor John Bailey. Bailey attended

Eltham College Eltham College is a private day school situated in Mottingham, southeast London. Eltham and Mottingham once formed part of the same parish, hence its name. It is a member of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). Early history ...

and graduated from

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

with a law degree, and was later admitted as a

in 1954. He was appointed an Under-Secretary in the

Treasury Solicitor's Department The Government Legal Department (previously called the Treasury Solicitor's Department) is the largest in-house legal organisation in the United Kingdom's Government Legal Profession. The department is headed by the Treasury Solicitor (formal ...

in 1973, later serving as Legal Director of the

Office of Fair Trading The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was a non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforced both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the United Kingdom's economi ...

between 1977 and 1979, when he became Deputy Treasury Solicitor. He was promoted in 1984 to

HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor The Government Legal Department (previously called the Treasury Solicitor's Department) is the largest in-house legal organisation in the United Kingdom's Government Legal Profession. The department is headed by the Treasury Solicitor (formal ...

, serving until 1988."Bailey, Sir John Bilsland"
''Who's Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2018). Retrieved 3 January 2018. Bailey was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in the

1982 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1982 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countrie ...

, and he was promoted to Knight Commander in the

1987 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in sup ...

. He died in London from pneumonia on 22 February 2021, at the age of 92."Births, Marriages and Deaths"
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' (London), 2 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.

References

1928 births 2021 deaths English solicitors Alumni of University College London Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People educated at Eltham College Treasury Solicitors People from Eltham Deaths from pneumonia in England {{UK-law-bio-stub Alumni of the UCL Faculty of Laws