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On 25 October 1940, he was called to The Bahamas
Bar as Counsel and Attorney of the Supreme Court of The Bahamas
and practiced as such until the end of 1945 when he went to London
to read law at the Society of the Middle Temple. He passed the bar
examinations with class-two honours and was called to the English
Bar as barrister-at-law on 17 November 1948. He returned to Nassau
in December 1948, and again went into private practice. In May 1949,
Sir Gerald was elected to the House of Assembly as the Senior Representative
of the Western District of New Providence and was elected as Junior
Representative for the same district in 1956, thereby serving as
a Member of Parliament for 14 years.
From
1958 to 1962 Sir Gerald served as a Member of Her Majesty’s
Executive Council.
He
served as a member of The Bahamas Senate from 1969 to 1979. He was
Vice-President of the Senate from 1970 to 1972, when he was appointed
President. He continued as President until 1973.
In
1940 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace for The Bahamas.
In
1964 he was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of
the British Empire (O.B.E.) in the Queen’s New Year Honours.
On
five occasions from 1973 to 2 September 1976, he served as Deputy
to the then Governor-General, Sir Milo Butler. On 2 September 1976,
he was appointed Acting Governor-General by the Queen. He was substantively
appointed Governor-General by the Queen in September 1979. He retired
on 25 June 1988.
He
was awarded the Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977. On 20 October 1977,
he was made Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (K.C.V.O.).
He was made Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of
St. Michael and St. George (G. C. M. G.) in the Queen’s 1980
New Year Honours.
He
was awarded the Silver Medal of the Olympic Order in 1983 and two
years later, on 18 October 1985, was Knighted by The Queen and titled
Knighted Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (G. C. V. O.).
In
1962 he represented The Bahamas at the independence celebrations
of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
Sir
Gerald was involved in many civic activities and served in various
capacities on boards, committees and organizations, some of which
are as follows;-
1. Member of the Board of Education of The Bahamas (1950 –
62)
2. Chairman of the Labour Board (1950 – 52)
3. Chairman of the Visiting Committee of the Boy’s Industrial
School (1953 – 62)
4. Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Government High School
(1949 – 63)
5. Member of the Police Service Commission (1964 – 69)
6. Member of the Immigration Committee (1958 – 62)
7. Member of the Road Traffic Committee (1958 – 62)
8. Member of the Air Transport Licensing Authority (1958 –
62)
9. Chairman of the National Committee of the United World Colleges
(1977 to date)
10. President of the Old Scholars Association of the Government
High School for a number of years.
He
also served as follows:-
1. Honorary Vice-Consul for the Republic of Haiti
2. Vice-Chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of The Bahamas and a
member of the Diocesan Council of the Anglican Diocese.
3. Member of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of The Bahamas.
4. President of the Rotary Club of East Nassau. Administrative adviser
of Rotary Club in The Bahamas to President of Rotary International.
5. Treasurer of the Young Men’s Christian Association.
6. Chairman of Executive Committee of Bahamas Boy’s Scout
Association and Vice-President of the Association.
7. Member of the Board of Directors of The Bahamas Association for
the Mentally Retarded
8. President of the Gym Tennis Club.
9. President of the Florida Tennis Association.
10. President of The Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association
11. President of The Bahamas Table Tennis Association
12. Vice-president of the Caribbean Lawn Tennis Association
13. Vice-president of The Bahamas Olympic Association
14. Vice-president of The Bahamas Swimming Association
15. Vice-president of The Bahamas Football Association
16. Vice-president of The Bahamas Amateur Athletic Association
17. Treasurer of The Bahamas Cricket Association
Sir
Gerald was married to the former Dorothy E. Long. They had one daughter,
Sharon and two sons, Gordon and Gerald Jr.
In March 1996, Flamingo Gardens Primary School was formally changed
to Gerald C. Cash Primary School in his honour.
Sir
Gerald Cash passed away on 6 January 2003 after failing to recover
from a massive stroke. |
