Steadfast and courageous: A tribute to Andrew Gash 

Andrew Gash (14 October 1938 – 17 May 2024), who has died aged 85, is being remembered by the National Spiritual Assembly “with love and admiration for his determination, eloquence, steadfastness and courage in service to his community”. Among other distinguished service, both in Australia and in the United Kingdom and Europe, he was a member of the Australian National Assembly, the national governing body, from 1975 to 1981. 

Andrew was born in the United Kingdom in 1938 and joined the Royal Air Force in 1956, where he first learnt of the Baha’i Faith while on guard duty one night with a fellow airman. At least five people at the same RAF base became Baha’is, including one who was the first Baha’i to settle in Spitsbergen, a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole, for which he received the title of Knight of Baha’u’llah. 

Andrew joined the Faith in 1959 after being nurtured by Jeannette Battrick, a stalwart Baha’i who later pioneered to New Zealand and New Caledonia with her husband, Owen. 

During the Ten Year Crusade, when Baha’is were called to move to countries and territories across the world to strengthen the community-building endeavours of the Faith, he arose as a pioneer to Luxembourg and stayed there until 1961. In Luxembourg, he had the privilege of attending the ceremony for the laying of the foundation stone of the Baha’i House of Worship in Frankfurt, Germany. Once back in England, he pioneered to York and met Jean in 1962. They attended the first Baha’i World Congress in London in 1963. 

Andrew and Jean and their two young children pioneered to Australia in 1970. He transferred within his company to Melbourne and the Gashes were among the many so-called Ten Pound Poms who migrated to Australia during that time. This move coincided nicely with the goal of the British Baha’i community to send pioneers to Australia.  

Andrew served in many capacities and served on the National Spiritual Assembly between 1975 and 1981as well on the National Teaching Committee. As full-time secretary of the National Teaching Committee in the 1970s, he contributed greatly to the restoration work at the House of Worship. This included going up and down several times to the top of the dome in a 40-gallon drum to create a makeshift system which allowed him to clean the inside of the windows. He was also greatly involved with the development of Baha’i literature and other resources. This included being appointed to the Editorial Board of the re-established Herald of the South magazine for which he wrote many articles. 

In 1990 Andrew and Jean returned to live in the UK due to family commitments and Andrew continued his work within his local Baha’i community, developing relationships and correspondence with Christian ministers and others. He also continued writing about the Faith.   

Recalling his time serving on the Herald of the South Board, Keith McDonald wrote:  

“Andrew and I became firm friends and when he and Jean moved back to the UK, we started a daily email exchange that continued for many years. I have kept his emails. All 13,000 of them. They are full of humour and wisdom. My wife says that she always knew when I was reading his latest message because I would be chortling to myself. How I miss those daily emails.”   

As well as a wicked sense of humour, Andrew had a brilliant, academic mind. He had a great devotion to Baha’u’llah and the work that needed to be done, contributing with courage and great sacrifice at times to both the practical functioning and spiritual needs of the community.    

He was the first to say though that if it wasn’t for the support of his wife, Jean, he would never have been able to do most of what he did in his Baha’i life. 

Andrew also had a successful career working initially in computers (from the early days in the 1960s when they were new to the workplace and took up a whole room) and moved later into management within the insurance industry until his retirement. 

He suffered with ill health in his later years and died at home on the Isle of Wight, UK on 17 May 2024. Jean died in 2017. Andrew is survived by his two children and one grandson.