Born at Oxford.
Enlisted at London on the 20th of March 1848.
Age: 20.
Height: 5' 9".
Trade: Tailor.
Sent to the General Depot at Scutari on the 29th of September 1854 and rejoined the regiment on the 24th of November 1854. He was again at Scutari from the 4th of April — 11th of May 1855.
From Private to Corporal: 1st of December 1855.
Corporal to Sergeant: 1st of October 1857.
Discharged, from Manchester on the 24th of March 1860.
Served 12 years 5 days.
Conduct: "good".
In possession of two Good Conduct badges.
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma and Sebastopol.
It is possible that John Bayliss emigrated to Canada and died there (see below).
Awarded "Special Campaign Pension" (no date shown).
At a Sotheby's auction on the 26th of July 1996 a family group comprising of the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma and Sebastopol and with officially impressed naming (but re-engraved over worn areas) to "Corporal J. Bayliss, 4th Lt. Dragns.", the Turkish Crimean medal (Sardinian issue) as "Serjt." and the surname spelt as "Baylis", this latter with contemporary engraved naming, the first with refixed suspension and heavily polished and the second drilled at six o'clock, but in otherwise better condition, and a group of three WW1 medals, comprising of the 1914-15 Star, the B.W.M. and Victory Medals to "Captain F. Bayliss, Capt., 7/Can. Inf.
The "write-up" repeated what is already known about John Bayliss's service in the Crimea, that he left the Army after twelve years' service, and that he died at the age of 85 years in 1902.
The medal roll for the Alma, made out at Camp Balaclava in January of 1855 and that for Sebastopol made out at Scutari in December of 1855, both refer to him as being a Private.
Captain Frederick Bayliss, one the eight children of John Bayliss, was born in 1872 and arrived at Jersey City, U.S.A, in 1885.
At the age of seventeen he joined the North West Mounted Police at Winnipeg, but was dismissed the service in August 1894. At the time of the outbreak of hostilties in 1914 he was believed to be serving in the Irish Fusiliers as a Lieutenant, sometime afterwards transferring to the 7th Battalion, Canadian Infantry. He was posted to France as a Paymaster and Captain. He was later invalided out due to a riding accident, and died in 1967, aged 95 years.
Both groups were mounted for display in a glazed frame, the backdrop with fine quality water-colours depicting father and son in their respective uniforms. (It is now known that the mount for display is some 20x30 inches, the two figures having been painted onto the card — i.e. they are not individual portraits laid on for display purposes, the "square around each character has likewise been painted on and the writing about the recipients has been written onto the card, in fact, the whole thing looks new, the colours of the portraits being very bright.")
There was also some correspondence with the son, Frederick, mostly about himself, but he does say of his father that he was a "despatch rider" in the Crimea and that he tried to sell his medals about the year 1870, but having been offered only two shillings decided to keep them.
The auction buyer was thought to be a Canadian dealer, being obviously of Canadian interest, and it is possible that John Bayliss emigrated to Canada and died there.
See photograph of the frame and its contents in the 4th Hussar file:
Wendy Leahy, Shadows of Time: John Baylis.