Born in Plumstead, Kent, she was the younger daughter of James Bilsland and Mary Ann Moore.
Bilsland studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Hubert Parry, Alexander Mackenzie and (for singing) Agnes Larkcom.
[6] In 1920 she married Walter Baley, proprietor of the Lord Derby public house opposite Woolwich Arsenal in Plumstead.
She turned instead to the more lucrative activities of vocal instruction, examining and adjudicating, becoming a Professor of Voice at the Royal Academy of Music.
[13] Living in Plumstead and Eltham, South London for most of her adult life, she supported local music making there, organising and accompanying.