R.A. Gilbert (1942-2026)

I am sorry to report the sad news that Bob Gilbert has died, aged 83. Writing as R.A. Gilbert, he was a highly regarded researcher, commentator and critic in the Western Mystery Tradition, publishing important books on the Golden Dawn, Freemasonry and A.E. Waite. He may be best-known to members of the Friends for his co-editorship of Arthur Machen’s Selected Letters, introducing and annotating those written to A.E. Waite.

Bob was a long-time member of the previous Machen Society, as well as FoAM, and many of us relied heavily on his knowledge of the friendship between Machen and Waite. Bob also edited a 2003 edition of The House of the Hidden Light, an exchange of letters previously considered by some (including Crowley) to be an obscure magical text.

Although Bob was fascinated by the occult, he was, in fact, a committed Christian who found himself interested in various elements of Western Esotericism. As he pointed out in his unpublished autobiography, he was always ‘an objective and dispassionate observer’, which meant that he often upset both occultists and Christians, especially those who made outrageous claims that could not be backed up by sound, evidence-based research. Those with any real understanding of these subjects acknowledged Bob’s insight and encyclopaedic knowledge of the occult in general, the Golden Dawn in particular, A.E. Waite, Masonic history, and Christian mysticism.

In his autobiography, Bob admitted to being a lifelong accumulator of not just books, but stamps, pictures, people and ideas, and though he studied philosophy and psychology at the University of Bristol, many will have known him as a secondhand and antiquarian book seller, having a shop for many years in Bristol. He met his second wife, Patricia, in 1969, brought together by not just a passion for books, but an interest in astronomy.

I remember that Bob was keen to publish The House of the Hidden Light because he wanted to set the record straight. In his view, there was enough to be fascinated by in the world of the occult, without resorting to ‘making things up’. He had little time for impostors and frauds, and was therefore initially horrified when I told him I was writing a biography of T. Lobsang Rampa. Once Bob realised I was working from a position of scepticism, he was very happy to help and encourage me. Whenever I chatted with Bob about anything, he would reveal a deep knowledge of yet another subject I hadn’t realised he had studied (and collected), in this case Tibet. He found the country, its history and religion, of the greatest interest and, of course, was therefore an indefatigable opponent of the ‘mystifiers’ of Tibet. But this did not mean that he didn’t have a great sense of humour about subjects that he was drawn to; he sent me a long list of authors who had used Tibet as a background (often with complete ignorance of the country) in their fiction.

I know that Bob will be missed by many from very different,(even apparently opposing, backgrounds. These will be people who appreciated his company, his willingness to share his knowledge, and his delight in opposing charlatans. Of course, his family will miss him even more profoundly, and our thoughts are with them.