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Friends and family in Bracknell and Crowthorne have paid tribute to a former teacher and counsellor who died last week after a long battle with dementia.
Much loved mother and grandmother Jeanne Bailey passed away at Royal Berkshire Hospital at the age of 77.
In 2024 as she was sick with Alzheimer’s, her daughter was elected to parliament.
In her maiden speech, Olivia Bailey MP described her as: ‘an English teacher who would always fight the corner of even the most badly behaved pupils and who instilled in me the determination captured in her favourite book that you never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view’.
She said: “My political flame, sparked at school, burns most fiercely as I hold the hand of my mum, being taken from me by Alzheimer’s while being let down by the state.”
Born in Lincolnshire at the end of the baby boom, Jeanne Margaret Swingler attended Stamford High School for Girls and went on to read English at the University of Leeds.
Jeanne then taught English at Windsor Girls School where she became head of the pastoral service and Deputy Head Teacher. Tributes were paid this week to a ‘fantastic teacher and amazing lady’.
Former pupil Kay Devonshire-Murphy who she taught between 1991 and 1995 said: “She meant so much to me. She made English fascinating. Her expertise blew me away as did her absolute compassion and care for every one of us.”
Another pupil Sandy Ann Pescod said: “Jeanne was the reason I adored English at school. “She was much loved and admired by all her students.”
In the 1970s, by then known as Jeanne Martin, she trained to be a counsellor with ‘Number 22’ a low-cost counselling service for young people and adults in Windsor, Maidenhead and Slough.
She was described as a ‘brilliant’ youth counsellor often going above and beyond to support young people in real difficulty.
It was in 1982, on the executive committee for ‘Number 22’ that Jeanne met Maidenhead Police Inspector, Roy Bailey who took her to the police bar for their first date.
They married on August 3, 1985 and last year celebrated 40 years together.
It was the second marriage for both of them, and Jeanne and Roy moved to Crowthorne together in 1986, going on to host the local Labour Party together in their dining room which overflowed with warmth and laughter, sharing the best red wine and intellectual conversation around their dining table.
It was in Crowthorne where Jeanne became actively involved in the Trussell trust, distributing food for local people and a counsellor with the Samaritans.
Jeanne was described as a private but genuinely compassionate person, who was above all kind and thoughtful and always putting the needs of others first.
Conservative councillor and former Observer journalist, Tina McKenzie-Boyle, knew Jeanne as a fellow mum at Oaklands Primary School, and told the LDRS that the Baileys were a very caring family and one which was deeply involved with their local community.
She said: “It was with deep regret that I learnt of Jeanne’s passing. Roy and his family and mine have known each other for over 30 years.
“Their daughter Olivia and our son went to local schools with each other.
“The Baileys are a very caring family and one which is deeply involved with their local community.
“Roy and Olivia will have the support of their wide network of friends during this very trying time.”
She leaves her husband Roy, a senior Bracknell Councillor, daughter Olivia, the member of parliament for Reading West and Mid-Berkshire, and two grandsons.
Her funeral will be at St. Paul’s Church, Wokingham on Friday June 12 and her family have asked for donations to ‘Number 22’ that continues to work in the community across Slough, Maidenhead and Windsor.
Jeanne Margaret Bailey: August 9, 1948 – May 18, 2026
