Airsoft in the United Kingdom marked a sad day and a big loss last 9 January 2016, when Tom Andrews, one of the pioneers of airsoft in the UK passed away. For airsoft players who have played at or are regulars of Elite Action Games, he is the familiar face by the van who ensures each player gets to have his/her airsoft gun to play, handling the rentals, and also the props that they find in the game site.
His friend and business partner, John Clancy, has this to say about him and information for those who want to pay their respects:
There are days when sad news falls upon your ears, where you answer your phone only to hear the most shocking of news.
I’m sorry to have to convey that Tom Andrews passed away on Saturday. As I understand it, he had a heart attack and died on Saturday night. I’m sure you will all join me in passing on condolences to his family.
I knew Tom for many years as a friend and business partner. The “Grandad of Airsoft” as he probably started one of the first sites in the UK. What he didn’t know about the guns, wasn’t worth knowing.
Many of you thought he just ran the shop from his van, but in truth he was part of the driving force for the development of Dorking and started both Epsom and Worthing. He also was responsible for so many silly props and other questionable ideas…
It had been many years since I last saw him play, but there was a time when he would go away for the weekend and play a game. One story comes to mind, where during a 24 hour game, Tom sunk into the other teams camp where they had neatly stacked their weapons in a “Tepee” fashion. The guards all lay asleep, whilst Tom stripped the barrels out of all their rifles and left the camp. When the dawn attack came, Tom’s team slaughtered the now awake Airsofters, who were barrel-less! Not everyone found it as funny as him….
He had a wicked sense of humour, often laying plenty of ground work to lure you in, but equally could fall foul of jokes here and there. I recall, when the Epsom bunker flooded and after the waters had receded and it was time to test the electrics. Tom being Tom, sprayed WD40 over the consumer box and declared that it would drive the water out. Being that I didn’t want to test his theory, I made him switch the thing on. Suddenly he didn’t look so confident as he viewed the consumer box and gingerly pulled the main breaker on. BANG! A loud thunder clap erupted as I clapped two pieces of wood behind his ears. He screamed like a little girl then realised I’d had him over and burst into laughter.
I think we all remember people in different ways, to me Tom was a good friend and when he wasn’t running back and forth to his van or trying to fix someone’s gun, there was a kind and generous man, with a wonderful sense of humour.
I will be holding a whip around on Sunday for anyone who wishes to send flowers from Elite to the funeral and will post the details of the funeral later.
Obviously, Tom’s passing will cause the odd issue here and there, please bear with us as we try and sort out his side of things. If you have a rental booked at either Dorking or Worthing can you please contact me.
He will be missed.
(Photo by James 'Wolfie' Washington)