Ash was born near London and on leaving school found employment with one of the large railway companies. A year later he started working for a legal firm, but found the work irksome and started with a large warehouse on Four Street. Then in 1877 he and a comrade set sail for South Africa, where he worked as a reporter for the "Kaffrarian Watchman". He served in the Kaffir War as a volunteer in order to report on the conflict.