Born in Leicestershire, Bayliss left school at the age of twelve to work at a colliery.
He joined the Leicestershire Miners' Association, but after becoming involved in industrial action, he was sacked and, a year later, moved to Nottinghamshire to find work.
[1] In this role he worked with Herbert Booth to promote reunification with the rival Nottinghamshire Miners' Industrial Union, which was achieved in 1937,[2] whereupon he became an agent for the merged Nottinghamshire Miners' Federated Union (NMFU).
In 1943, Bayliss was chosen as one of the Trades Union Congress' two representatives to the American Federation of Labour.
[1] Bayliss was elected to Nottinghamshire County Council, becoming an alderman, and serving as its chairman from 1945.