Amy Bailey

Amy Bailey was born in Walderston, Manchester in 1896. She was the daughter of William Frederick Bailey, educator, and Anna Louise Beckford, his wife.

EDUCATION
Young Amy received her early education at Mount Olivett Elementary School, Manchester, and then went on to Shortwood Teachers’ College in 1915, graduating in 1917.

While at Shortwood, Amy excelled in her studies, debating and leadership.

TEACHING CAREER
Amy Bailey was Assistant Elementary School Teacher, 1918 - 1919 and had teaching positions in several schools in Kingston and St. Andrew.

ACHIEVEMENTS
Amy Bailey, like many of her colleagues, embraced politics and deep involvement in social life as necessary co-partners with teacher. The period of Jamaica’s history leading up to the labour disturbances of 1938 witnessed countless debates on the social, political and economic facets of life in Jamaica. Venues like Ransom Hall on Duke Street, Ormsby Hall, on Victoria Avenue, Liberty Hall, on Upper Kings Street, were popular fora for lectures, debates and public meetings. Add to these other church halls and St. William Grant’s Park (formerly Victoria Park), which served as rallying points for the many groupings which wanted to put across their views to the general populace.

Amy Bailey was a forceful organizer and public speaker and she featured readily in many of these public meetings, debates and lectures.

Measured among her achievements were the Hostel and Housecraft Training Centre on Rosedale Avenue of which she founded in 1945. This became a venue for breakfast and luncheon meetings, as well as an important forum where many of the politicians of the day gathered.

A strong and redoubtable feminist, even at that point in history, she believed in the enabling of the young women through skills training. In the Jamaica of the 1940's, training of young women as domestic helpers and in catering was one of the few outlets for employment. Many young women benefitted from this institution. Ms. Bailey served as President of the Shortwood Old Students’ Association in 1936 and 1937. She continued for a long period as a member of the Executive.

Her social and political involvement was also evident by her tenure in many organizations.

She was Vice Chairman (1944-45) of the Jamaica Save the Children’s Fund and also served as its Honourable Secretary from 1938 - 1944, and served as member of the Executive Council of the School Children Lunch Fund.

Her struggles for the betterment of women saw her giving much of her energies to the Jamaica Women’s Federation which had as its objective, the general improvement and welfare of the women in Jamaica.

She also served as a Trustee of Printed Aid Society from 1945 to 1952 and of the Commercial Instructor Technical School from 1920 to 1936 On the business scene, she served as Director on the Board of the Colonial Insurance Company Limited and also as its President, 1940 - 1941.

J.U.T’S INVOLVEMENT
This energetic Amy Bailey had an unstinting commitment to the Jamaica Union of Teachers (J.U.T.). She not only served as President for Kingston, but also served on the Executive of the union. Though never being its President, a feat accomplished by only her contemporary, Edith Dalton-James. Both were close friends and shared a common political platform. Amy Bailey was indeed quite instrumental in the campaigning for the presidency of Edith Dalton-James. The women of the J.U.T. could always look to Amy Bailey for strong leadership and good counsel.

Since outlet for their leadership ability was somehow stifled in a male-dominated J.U.T., the women leaders found outlet in the Women Teachers’ Federation which Amy led for some time. This Federation gave strong support to the JUT on many issues and served as its women’s arm.

POLITICAL CAREER
Amy Bailey served as Vice-President (1942) and was Acting Secretary (1943 - 1944) of the Jamaica Women’s Liberal Club, which functioned as a political organization and was also Honourable Treasurer of the Jamaica Poetry League (1940).

She was most instrumental in the formation of the Peoples National Party (P.N.P.) in 1938 and subsequently was elected to the Executive Committee of the party at its second conference held in July 1940. Although Amy Bailey never entered representational politics, she was a force behind many who campaigned on the P.N.P’s ticket.

Amy Bailey’s other outstanding achievements included the distinction of having lectured at the Peace Conference, Glasgow and Oxford Group Conference held in Interlachen , Switzerland, in 1951. She also lectured in the United States in the same year on Jamaica’s educational and social history.

Amy Bailey’s efforts earned her the coveted position of Justice of the Peace (J.P.) and was honoured with the title of Member of the British Empire (M.B.E.) . Her life influenced many and the institution she founded, The Housecraft Training Centre, remains a monument to the woman of substance.