Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Colonial Police L.S. & G.C., G.V.R. (237 Sgt. Mjr. S. A. Bailey) edge bruising, good very fine £120-160

Sergeant Major Bailey, of the St.Mary Division, Jamaica Constabulary, was awarded his Colonial Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal in 1936. On 31 July 1936, Sergeant Major Bailey was formally presented with his medal by the Acting Governor of Jamaica at an awards parade held at the Jamaica Constabulary Depot. At the time of his award he had served for 28 years and 4 months.

The recipient had the shared honour of being the first native born black commissioned 'Inspector' of Police in the Jamaica Constabulary.

The Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner contains several score mentions and reports on Sergeant-Major and later Inspector Bailey. The Sunday Gleaner Magazine issue of 26 November 1967, contained a photograph of Inspector Bailey together with the following article:

‘First Two Jamaican Officers.

The only regret Inspector Bailey S. A. Bailey had after serving the Jamaica Constabulary Force for 40 years was that he had to retire at the time he did so. Mr Bailey made history in 1946 as one of the first two Jamaican born sub-officers commissioned as officers, the other being the late Inspector P.E. Rose. Both were commissioned in 1946. The appointment of both sub-officers as inspectors followed years of agitation by nationalistic legislators, and Governor Sir Arthur Richards (now Lord Milverton) yielded to pressure in March 1946. However when Messers Bailey and Rose were appointed they were near retiring years and both were out of the Force within three years after being made officers. 
Commissioned while serving in St. Mary, Mr Bailey received 84 telegrams and 101 letters of congratulations. The citizens of the parish presented him with an illuminated addressing, expressing "sheerest and heartfelt congratulations".

It was in St. Mary that he had the toughest assignment of his career. During the 1933 disturbances he was in charge of a party of policeman which faced a crowd of about 300 rioters at Islington, near Port Maria. He appealed to the crowd to disperse quietly but instead they attacked the policemen with sticks and stones. The police party had to fire on the crowd. An enquiry later found that the activities of the police was justified.

Mr Bailey who is now 78 years of age and is engaged in community work in Port Maria, describes the all round improvement in the force between 1908 when he joined and 1948 when he retired as "phenomenal". "Further improvement carried out since I left was beyond my expectations", he said. He pointed out that the force is now highly organised and the pay to the policemen they were now receiving was the same as he drew as an Inspector. He feels that there has been a marked improvement in the quality of the men in the force but there was still room for future improvement. He was opposed and still is to a Policeman resorting to unnecessary assault on a person taken into custody because if that person tries to defend himself he would be charged with assaulting a policeman in executing his duties. The only time force should be used he said is to subdue a person in custody who attacks or attempts to attack a policeman. Mr Bailey recalled that during his time he disciplined some of his men for using unnecessary force. He was respected as a Policeman Sub-Officer and Inspector both in and outside the Force and today the people of Port Maria, especially in the quiet district of Grants Town where he lives regard him as an upright man.’

Sold together with soft-copy of article titled 'Presentation of Long Service Medals' as published in the Jamaican 'Police Magazine' issue of October 1936, listing the recipients name and details (in it his name is spelt ‘Baily’).