Ronald Bailey was born 14 June 1917, the only son of William Staveley Bailey and May Eveline (née Cudlipp), Southampton; he was educated at King Edward VI School, Southampton and Trinity Hall, Cambridge (Wootton Isaacson Scholar in Spanish). In 1946 he married Joan Hassall, daughter of the late A. E. Gray, JP, Stoke-on-Trent.

During his diplomatic career, Bailey served as: Probationer Vice-Consul, Beirut [Lebanon], 1939-41; Vice-Consul, Alexandria [Egypt], 1941-45; Assistant Oriental Secretary, British Embassy, Cairo, 1945-48; 1st Secretary, Foreign Office, 1948-49; British Legation, Beirut, 1949-52 (acted as Chargé d’Affaires, 1949, 1950 and 1951); British Embassy, Washington [United States], 1952-55; Counsellor, Washington, 1955-57; Khartoum [Sudan], 1957-60 (acted as Chargé d’Affaires in each of these years); Chargé d’Affaires, Taiz [Yemen], 1960-62; Consul-General, Gothenburg [Sweden], 1963-65; Minister, British Embassy, Baghdad [Iraq], 1965-67; Ambassador to Bolivia, 1967-71; Ambassador to Morocco, 1971-75. Bailey died on 14 May 2010.

He was awarded the CMG in 1961.