John Wade

John Wade
Wade in the Holy Land, 1968.
Born	April 20, 1910 New Barnet, London, England
Died	November 26, 1998 Bristol, England
NSA member	British Isles 1958 - 1965
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John Wade (April 20, 1910 - November 26, 1998) was an English Bahá’í who served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles and as Secretary-General of the Bahá’í International Community.

Biography

Wade was born in New Barnet, England, in 1910 but was raised in South London. His family was Christian and he attended Sunday School classes at a Presbyterian Church but was disillusioned when the Minister expressed that Christians should not pray for Muslims due to them being infidels. He married Rose at some point and they had three children; Christine, Colin, and Margaret and settled in Barnet.

Wade and his wife Rose were introduced to the Bahá’í Faith in the 1950's and attended study classes facilitated by John Ferraby and heard talks by Ian Semple, Hasan Balyuzi, and others. They declared in 1955 and were elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of London shortly afterwards. Shoghi Effendi passed away during a visit to England in late 1957 and Wade attended his funeral and after the funeral the Wade's were appointed custodians of his grave. In 1958 Wade was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles and he was later also appointed to the National Teaching Committee. In 1959 he and his wife went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land for the first time.

In 1963 Wade assisted with the organization of the First Bahá’í World Congress held at the Royal Albert Hall in London and he also attended the First International Convention in the Holy Land and cast a vote for the first Universal House of Justice as a member of the British National Assembly. In 1965 the Universal House of Justice appointed him as the first Secretary General of the Bahá’í International Community and he moved to the Holy Land to serve in the role with his initial responsibilities being to represent the House of Justice in consultations with the Israeli authorities.

While serving in the Holy Land Wade assisted in the organization and running of three International Conventions in 1968, 1973, and 1978. In the late 70's Wade felt that he was unable to serve the best interests of his position as he was not a professional in the field and he felt he should be replaced by someone with more experience. His wife's health had also declined and he retired in 1979 and returned to the United Kingdom where Rose passed in January 1987.

He later met a woman named Carolyn while on a pilgrimage to Haifa and they married and settled in Bristol. He contracted cancer and Carolyn cared for him up until his passing in 1998.