HIS EXCELLENCY SIR GERALD CASH GCMG, GCVO, OBE, JP.  GOVERNOR-GENERAL 1979 - 1988

Sir Gerald Cash, GCMG, GCVO, OBE, JP, former Governor-General of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, was born in Nassau on May 28, 1917 to the late Wilfred Gladstone and Lillian Cash.
 

Sir Gerald attended Eastern Senior High School and Government High School in Nassau where he graduated from the latter with the Cambridge Senior School Certificate at age 15.
 

On October 25, 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 November 17, 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 September 2, 1976, he served as Deputy to the then Governor-General, Sir Milo Butler. On September 2, 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.
 

Sir Gerald was awarded the Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977. On October 20, 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 October 18, 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;-
 

• Member of the Board of Education of The Bahamas (1950 – 1962)
• Chairman of the Labour Board (1950 – 1952)
• Chairman of the V is Boy’s Industrial School (1953 – 1962)
• Chairman of the B the Government High School (1949 – 1963)
• Member of the Police Commission (1964 – 1969)
• Member of the Immigr – 1962)
• Member of the Road Traffic Committee (1958 –1962 )
• Member of the A Transport Licensing Authority (1958 – 1962)
• Chairman of the National Committee of the United World Colleges 1977
• President of the Old Scholars Association of the Government High School for a number of years

He also served as Honorary Vice-Consul for the Republic of Haiti, Vice- Chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of The Bahamas and a member of the Diocesan Council of the Anglican Diocese, and member of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of The Bahamas.
 

An avid sportsman, Sir Gerald served as president of The Bahamas Law Tennis Association and of the Florida Tennis Association. And served as vice president of The Bahamas Olympic Association and of The Bahamas Amateur Athletic 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.