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Unfolding Destiny
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Pages 462-490
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Letter of 15 August 1957
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You should not allow the remarks made by the Bahá'ís to hurt
or depress you, but should forget the personalities, and arise to do
all you can, yourself, to teach the Faith.
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Bahá'u'lláh enjoins work on all. No one need ever be ashamed
of his job.
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"THEIR DAILY SUSTENANCE"
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In his last message to the British Bahá'í community as a whole
the Guardian wrote:
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May they, as they forge ahead along the high road leading to
ultimate, total and complete victory, receive as their daily sustenance,
a still fuller measure of the abounding grace, promised to the believers
of an earlier generation by the Centre of the Covenant, the Author of
the Divine Plan, Himself, on the occasion of His twice-repeated visit
to their shores, and which has been unfailingly vouchsafed to
themselves, in the course of over three decades, since the birth of the
Formative Age of the Faith and the rise of its Administrative Order
in their homeland.
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Shoghi
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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
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BIOGRAPHIES
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These biographies appear strictly in the order the names first
appear in the text of the book. Where a fuller report is published
elsewhere, a summary only is given together with a reference to
the other material.
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NAME PAGE NAME PAGE
Dr. John E. Esslemont 9 John L. Marshall 210
Edward T. Hall 9 Mrs. M. Olga K. Mills 210
Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper 9 Alfred and Lucy Sugar 210
George P. Simpson 9 Charles N. Dunning 211
Miss Ethel J. Rosenberg 11 Miss Claire Gung 211
Día'u'lláh Asgharzádih 24 Mrs. Lizzie F. Hainsworth 211
Lady Blomfield 30 Miss Margaret Sullivan 211
Rev. George Townshend 55 Cyril and Margaret
Mrs. Isobel Slade 61 Jenkerson 217
Mrs. Louise Ginman 63 Richard H. Backwell 218
Miss Florence Pinchon 72 Miss Ada Williams 222
Mrs. Claudia Coles 88 Mrs. Constance Langdon-Davies 224
Sister Grace Challis 88 George K. Marshall 228
David Hofman 108 Mrs. Marguerite Preston 231
Mrs. Lilian Stevens 116 Bernard Leach, CH, OBE 239
Miss Evelyn Baxter 117 Samuel Scott 240
Hasan M. Balyuzi 122 John Ferraby 250
Frank Hurst 126 Mrs. Florence "Mother"
Mrs. Mary Basil-Hall 127 George 256
Albert and Jeff Joseph 146 Músá Banání 257
Dr. R. St. Barbe Baker 163 `Alí Nakhjavání 257
Miss Jessica Young 172 Hassan and Isobel Sabrí 266
Lady Kathleen Hornell 172 Arthur Norton 267
Mrs. Ursula Samandarí 172 Eric Manton 273
Mrs. Marion Hofman 179 Dr. Abbás and Shomáís
Miss Una Townshend 181 Afnán 278
Joseph Lee 181 Edmund Cardell 281
Mrs. Dorothy Ferraby 184 Dr. John G. Mitchell 307
Philip Hainsworth 187 Miss Irene Bennett 321
Walter Wilkins 191 Miss Dorothy Wigington 362
Mrs. Alma C. Gregory 191 Ernest W. Gregory 381
Robert Cheek 191 Dr. Ernest S. Miller 395
Mrs. Joan Giddings 194 Ian Semple 411
Hugh and Violet McKinley 194 Miss Jean Campbell 414
Dr. Lutfulláh Hakím 195 John Craven 416
Fred Stahler 202
Mrs. Prudence George 202
DR. JOHN E. ESSLEMONT
Hand of the Cause of God page 9
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Born in 1874 and accepted the Faith in early 1915, Dr. Esslemont
was elevated to the rank of Hand of the Cause of God after his
passing on 22 November 1925 and linked by the Guardian with
George Townshend and Thomas Breakwell, on the passing of
George Townshend, as "One of three luminaries shedding
brilliant lustre annals Irish, English, Scottish Bahá'í communities".
He was "Vice-President" of the first National Assembly from
October 1923 until November 1924. For fuller details of his life
and works read "Dr. J. E. Esslemont" by Dr. Moojan Momen.
(Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1975-B130.)
EDWARD THEODORE HALL page 9
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12 |
First heard of the Faith in 1910 in the Salford, Lancashire area
and with his wife Rebecca, her brother John Charles and his wife
Hester Ann Craven, made contact with Sarah Ann Ridgway,
one of the earliest British Bahá'ís, and later established the second
Bahá'í Group in the British Isles. In 1912 Mr. Hall and Mr.
Craven went to Liverpool and met `Abdu'l-Bahá at the boat.
Five Tablets from the Master were received. In 1922 the first
Spiritual Assembly was formed in Manchester with E. T. Hall as
Secretary. He also "represented" Manchester on the first National
Spiritual Council in 1922, and was a member of the National
Assembly until 1928. He was entrusted by Shoghi Effendi with
part of his early diaries and later maintained a close correspondence
with the Guardian for many years. His book, "The Bahá'í
Dawn; Manchester" paints a vivid picture of the early days of
the Faith in Lancashire. Through Mr. Hall's correspondence
with the Editor of the `John O'Groats Journal' (Mr. R. J. G.
Millar) frequent reviews and letters were published for
nineteen years until the Editor's retirement. He passed away on
5 December 1962 aged 82.
MRS. THORNBURGH-CROPPER page 9
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One of the first Bahá'ís of the West and possibly the first Bahá'í
resident in England. Her early Bahá'í life is described in "The
Chosen Highway" and in "The Bahá'í World", Vol. VIII,
pp. 649-51. She was a member of the National Spiritual
Assembly for its first two years and it was in her house in
Westminster that the first meeting of the "All-England Bahá'í
Council" was held on 6 June 1922. She passed away on 15 March
1938.
GEORGE PALGRAVE SIMPSON page 9
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14 |
Was associated with the Administration of the Faith in the
British Isles from its earliest days. Elected as Chairman of the first
"Spiritual Council" and President of the "National Spiritual
Assembly" in 1923. He also served as the Assistant Secretary and
the Treasurer for some years. All the early letters from the
Guardian were addressed to him and the file copies of his letters
to the Holy Land, some to the Guardian and others to the
various secretaries, as well as the Minutes in his handwriting,
give us our closest insight into the conditions obtaining in the
1920's. At one stage he felt obliged to resign from the National
Assembly but was still called upon to remain as its Treasurer and
attend the meetings! He served the Cause with great distinction
until his death on 31 August 1934. (See letter 30 September
1934.)
MISS ETHEL JENNER ROSENBERG page 11
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"One of the pioneers of the Bahá'í Cause in the Western World".
Having first embraced the Faith in 1899 she soon afterwards
went to Akká, subsequently visiting many times both Akká and
Haifa for months at a time, learning from and assisting the
Master in translating and transcribing the Teachings. Beloved
by all the members of the Holy Family, her passing in November
1930 at the age of 72 evoked a cabled tribute from Shoghi
Effendi, who knew her well in England and welcomed her in
Haifa after the passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá. She was the one entrusted
to bring the robe of Bahá'u'lláh to England, and was a member
of the National Assembly from 1923-1927. ("Bahá'í World",
Vol. IV, p. 263.)
DÍA'U'LLÁH ASGHARZÁDIH,
Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Page 24
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Born in 1880 into a Bahá'í family which emigrated to Ishqábád
when he was fifteen years old, Día'u'lláh was throughout his life
an active Bahá'í. His first pilgrimage was in 1903, his second was
seventeen years later, after which he settled in London, and his
third was at the time of the passing of the Master when Shoghi
Effendi gave him the task of making copies of the Master's Will
from the original. He was a member of the National Assembly
for various periods between 1925 and 1941 and settled in Jersey
as a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh in 1953 at the age of 73. He passed
away in Jersey in April 1956. ("Bahá'í World", Vol. XIII, p. 881.)
SARA, LADY BLOMFIELD (SITÁRIH KHÁNUM) Page 30
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For fuller details of her devoted services to the Cause it is
necessary to refer to "The Chosen Highway" and "The Bahá'í
World", Vol. VIII, pp. 651-6. Born in Ireland of a fearless
Protestant mother and a strong Roman Catholic father, she
understood from an early age the tragedy of religious intolerance
which led her to search for Truth until she found the Bahá'í
Revelation. She was held in high esteem in the London society
of the late "nineties" but she herself was always looking for the
Promised One. She was a great friend and admirer of Basil
Wilberforce, Archdeacon of Westminster. Not only did she
place her home in Cadogan Gardens at the disposal of the Master
during His London visits but she accompanied Him to Paris.
While He was in America she went to Mount Pelerin, in
Switzerland, to edit the rough notes of "Paris Talks", had them
sent to Him for correction and had the book published in time
for His second visit when He signed and gave away many copies.
She accompanied Shoghi Effendi when he returned to Haifa
after the passing of the Master and wrote the letter which was
later published as "The Passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá". She was a
member of the National Spiritual Assembly for eight of its first
eleven years. She passed away on the last day of 1939 and a
remarkably fine obituary in the magazine "The World's
Children" of March 1940 was headed "Lady Blomfield--Apostle
of World Unity".
GEORGE TOWNSHEND
Hand of the Cause of God Page 55
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First corresponded with `Abdu'l-Bahá about 1918. The Master
wrote to him "It is my hope that thy church will come under the
heavenly Jerusalem". For very many years he tried to bring to
the clergy of the Church of Ireland and particularly the senior
ones, the realisation of Bahá'u'lláh as Christ returned in the
Glory of the Father. In spite of his important books, "The Heart
of the Gospel" and "The Promise of All Ages", no one in the
church responded and in 1947 the Guardian called upon him to
resign from the church. He complied immediately and moved
with his wife and two children to a small bungalow in Dundrum
near Dublin. He was one of the founder members of the first
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Dublin and in 1951 was
elevated to the rank of Hand of the Cause. For many years he
gave distinguished services to the Guardian, not least of which
was the writing of the introduction to "God Passes By" and his
presentation on behalf of the Guardian of his paper "Bahá'u'lláh's
Ground Plan for World Fellowship" to the inaugural meeting of
the World Congress of Faiths in 1936. The pamphlet he wrote
to all Christians under the title "The Old Churches and the New
World Faith" was sent out to 10,000 so-called "responsible
people" in the British Isles on the occasion of his resignation
from the church, and his last book "Christ and Bahá'u'lláh" was
described by the Guardian as "his crowning achievement". He
participated in the Inter-Continental Conference, Stockholm,
Sweden in July 1953 and passed away in March 1957 at the age
of 81. ("Bahá'í World", Vol. XIII, p. 841.)
MRS. ISOBEL SLADE page 61
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19 |
It has not been possible to trace exactly when Mrs. Slade became
a Bahá'í but she did tell the story of how she heard of the Faith
from a visiting American believer and wished to go on
pilgrimage to see the Master. Before her plans were made she
heard of His passing and she went in the early 1920s. In the year
1926 there is a record of her being a "substitute" member of the
National Assembly elected to "represent" the London community.
From the following year the delegates elected the National
Assembly from the national electorate and Mrs. Slade served as
a member for fourteen of the following nineteen years. She was,
in different years, Chairman, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer
and Assistant Secretary. She was a "last ditch" pioneer to
Edinburgh to form the first Assembly there in 1948. To the end
of her long life she would delight her visitors with fascinating
stories of her experiences in the early days of the Faith in the
British Isles and she passed away in September 1972 at the age of
98. The Universal House of Justice cabled: "PASSING ISOBEL SLADE
SEVERS ONE FEW REMAINING LINKS EARLY CAUSE BRITISH ISLES
DEPRIVES COMMUNITY OUTSTANDING BELIEVER STOP HER UNFLAGGING
SUPPORT CAUSE GOD MORE THAN HALF CENTURY COMPRISING
MEMBERSHIP NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY PIONEER VISITING
TEACHER SIX YEAR PLAN CONSTANT DEVOTION DUTY HIGH MORAL
STATURE RENDER HER SHINING EXAMPLE FUTURE GENERATIONS
STOP EXPRESS RELATIVES FRIENDS LOVING SYMPATHY ASSURE
PRAYERS SACRED THRESHOLD AMPLE REWARD PROGRESS SOUL ABHÁ
KINGDOM."
MRS. LOUISE GINMAN page 63
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Also referred to later as "Louise Charlot". Became a Bahá'í in
Burlingame, California about 1910, and came to England late in
1919. She served on the London Spiritual Assembly for a period;
pioneered to Oxford, and then to Bristol where she died in
February 1963 at the age of 92.
MISS FLORENCE E. PINCHON page 72
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Little is known about Miss Pinchon's early life but she was
mentioned as being active in the Faith with Dr. Esslemont and
Major Tudor Pole during the First World War (See "Bahá'í
World" Vol. XIV, pp. 370-2). "Floy" had a most lucid pen and
in addition to contributing to Bahá'í and non-Baha'i magazines,
wrote "The Coming of the Glory", and "Life after Death". She
travelled as a Bahá'í teacher before the Second World War but
suffered from indifferent health for many years before her death
in Bournemouth in March 1966.
MISS CLAUDIA STUART COLES page 88
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Having accepted the Bahá'í teachings in Washington, D.C. was
one of its most loyal and enthusiastic adherents. Moved to
London, England in 1920 and was for eleven years a member of
the community, serving for a period as secretary of the National
Assembly. She died in London on 25 May 1931. ("Bahá'í
World", Vol. IV, pp. 263-4.)
SISTER GRACE CHALLIS page 88
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Sister Challis was a Quaker when she heard of the Faith from
Dr. Esslemont and she accepted it at the gathering of the
Bournemouth Bahá'ís called to hear of the passing of the Master.
Always an active teacher of the Faith, she also served on the
National Assembly for fifteen of its first eighteen years, mainly
as its Chairman. She passed away in Bournemouth in October
1948.
DAVID HOFMAN page 108
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24 |
A member of the Universal House of Justice since its formation
in 1963, he became a Bahá'í in the Maxwell home in Montreal
in 1933, when he began corresponding with the Guardian.
Returning to England in 1936, he was elected to the British
National Spiritual Assembly and was the Secretary during some
of its most crucial years. He was the first Manager of its
Publishing Trust and played a vital rôle on the National
Teaching and Africa Committees of the Six and Two Year
Plans. He served almost continuously on the National Assembly
until his election to the Universal House of Justice. David and
Marion Hofman pioneered during the Six Year Plan in
Northampton, Birmingham and Oxford and during the Ten
Year Crusade in Cardiff and Watford. Throughout his years of
devoted service to the British community he was always in
demand as a most accomplished speaker and convincing teacher.
MRS. LILIAN STEVENS page 116
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Was a founder member of the first Torquay Spiritual Assembly
in 1938; was for many years its secretary and in spite of
prolonged illness remained a great servant of the Faith. She
passed away on 1 January 1958.
MISS EVELYN BAXTER,
Knight of Bahá'u'lláh page 117
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26 |
Born around 1883 of missionary parents, accepted the Faith in
1923 and served with absolute devotion throughout the
remainder of her life. She was for many years a member of the
London Spiritual Assembly and served for six years on the
National Assembly. Throughout her Bahá'í life she corresponded
frequently with the Guardian and responded to his overseas
pioneer call when she became a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for the
Channel Isles in September 1953. She had already pioneered in
the Six Year Plan to Birmingham, Nottingham, Hove, Oxford
and Cardiff. She died on 21 August 1969 and the Universal
House of Justice cabled: "DEEPLY GRIEVED PASSING KNIGHT OF
BAHÁ'U'LLÁH EVELYN BAXTER. AMONG FIRST PIONEERS SIX YEAR
PLAN HER LONG FAITHFUL SERVICE BRITISH BAHÁ'Í COMMUNITY
PROVIDES EXAMPLE DEVOTION FORTITUDE".
("Bahá'í World", Vol. XV, pp. 456-7)
HASAN M. BALYUZI,
Hand of the Cause of God page 122
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He was first elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of the British Isles in 1933 and served continuously until
1960, when he retired in order to devote his whole time to the
work of the Hands of the Cause. He served at the World Centre,
and travelled to South America and throughout Canada in 1961.
Mr. Balyuzi was Secretary of the first Summer School
Committee in 1936, on the National Teaching Committee in
1940 and Chairman of the National Assembly almost every year
from 1942 until his retirement. He was elevated to the rank of
Hand of the Cause in 1957, and has made invaluable contributions
to the literature of the Faith with his trilogy, "Bahá'u'lláh",
"`Abdu'l-Bahá" and "The Báb"; his "Edward Granville Browne
and the Bahá'í Faith", his pamphlet on "Bahá'í Administration",
and "Muhammad and the Course of Islám". (See page 490)
FRANK HURST page 126
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An early worker in the Trade Union Movement in Britain,
Frank was an outspoken sympathiser of the Faith for over twenty
years before actually accepting it in Bradford in 1939. He died
in Leeds in 1949.
MRS. MARY BASIL-HALL (PARVINE) page 127
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Daughter of Lady Blomfield, she was active in the Faith from
her youth, particularly during the visit to Britain of the Master
Whom she served with such devotion, and Who bestowed upon
her the name "Parvine" on His first visit in 1911. She served for
five years on the National Spiritual Assembly and for a short
time on the National Teaching Committee of the Six Year Plan.
At her passing the National Assembly cabled the Guardian,
"PARVINE GLORIED IN SUCCESS PLAN PASSED TO ABHÁ KINGDOM
MORNING 28TH" (April 1950).
ALBERT AND JEFF JOSEPH page 146
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30 |
Associated with the Faith from the very beginnings of the
Administration in the British Isles, the Joseph brothers gave long
and outstanding service to the Cause. Jacob (later "Jeff") was
Chairman and Albert (then Ibrahim) a member of the first
"Spiritual Council" of the Bahá'ís of Manchester. Jacob was a
member of the first "All-England Bahá'í Council" in 1922 and of
the first National Spiritual Assembly in 1923. Both were
mentioned in and received some Tablets from the Master and
both were warmly regarded by the Guardian for their services
to the Faith. Jeff died in August 1969 in Manchester and Albert
in August 1978.
RICHARD ST. BARBE BAKER, O.B.E., LL.D.,
FOR.D.I.P. (CAMBRIDGE) page 163
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31 |
On his return from Kenya in 1924 where he had served as
Assistant Conservator of Forests since 1920, R. St. Barbe Baker
was asked to speak on the faiths of the Kikuyu under the title:
"Some African Beliefs" at the `Conference of Living Religions
within the Empire', and was approached afterwards by Claudia
Stewart-Coles who exclaimed "You are a Bahá'í". He subsequently
accepted the Faith and has introduced it to many
thousands of people in all walks of life in many lands, for more
than half a century. The Guardian became the first Life Member
of the Men of the Trees in Palestine in 1929. Later, for twelve
consecutive years, he sent an official message to St. Barbe's World
Forestry Charter Gatherings attended by Ambassadors from up
to sixty-two countries each year. St. Barbe took an active part on
the Committee celebrating the Centenary of the Declaration of
the Báb in 1944. After his first Sahara University Expedition
carrying out an ecological survey of 9,000 miles in 1953, and in
response to the Guardian's desire, St. Barbe attended the First
African Conference in Kampala. In 1975 St. Barbe was called
upon to advise on tree planting of the site of the Tihrán House
of Worship in consultation with Quinlan Terry, architect.
Afterwards, in collaboration with architect Hossein Amánat, he
recorded his observations for the Universal House of Justice for
the landscaping of their site on Mt. Carmel and for tree-scaping
at Bahjí. St. Barbe attended the Intercontinental Conference
Nairobi, in October 1976 and still (1979) at almost 90 is
introducing or teaching the Faith in many lands and would be
content to "lay down his bones in service to the Faith" in his
beloved Africa.
MISS JESSICA YOUNG page 172
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Historically was the first British pioneer to arise when she went
for a short time to Bristol.
KATHLEEN BROWN (LADY HORNELL) page 172
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Was elected to the National Assembly in 1936 and served until
1945. She pioneered to Nottingham in 1946 where she later
married Sir William Hornell. Her next pioneer post was in
Belfast in 1952, then to Venice (1960-1965) and later to Sardinia
(1965-1968). She returned to London to live at the home of her
son-in-law, Hand of the Cause, H. M. Balyuzi. She passed away
in September 1977 and the Universal House of Justice cabled:
"PASSING LADY HORNELL ROBS BRITISH COMMUNITY ONE OF FEW
REMAINING LINKS EARLY DAYS FAITH. HER UNWAVERING FAITH
CONSTANT DEDICATED SERVICES PIONEER TEACHING ADMINISTRATIVE
FIELDS OVER SO MANY YEARS ASSURE HER HIGH STATION
ANNALS CAUSE PROVIDE SHINING EXAMPLE PRESENT FUTURE
GENERATIONS. ADVISE HOLD BEFITTING MEMORIAL MEETING.
ASSURE ARDENT PRAYERS SACRED THRESHOLD PROGRESS HER LOVING
SOUL ABHÁ KINGDOM."
URSULA SAMANDARÍ (née NEWMAN),
Knight of Bahá'u'lláh page 172
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34 |
First served on the British National Assembly in 1945 and
pioneered to St. Ives in the same year. Ursula became pioneer
member of the first Dublin Assembly in 1948 and pioneered
again, a year later, to Belfast. In Belfast she became member of
the first Local Assembly and worked with pioneer Dr. Mehdi
Samandarí, whom she married. They subsequently pioneered to
Nairobi in 1953 and later to Somalia, where she was a Knight of
Bahá'u'lláh and became a member of the first Spiritual Assembly
of Mogadiscio, on which she served from 1954 until 1971. In
addition to these experiences, she served on the National
Assembly for North East Africa (1961-1970) and on the
National Assembly of Cameroon since 1972, where she still
serves (1979).
MRS MARION HOFMAN page 179
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Came to Britain in 1945 to be married to David Hofman, after
having served the Faith in America with great distinction as a
teacher, writer and administrator. With her husband she
pioneered during the Six Year Plan in Northampton, Birmingham
and Oxford, and during the Ten Year Crusade in Cardiff
and Watford. She served on the National Spiritual Assembly
and National Teaching Committee and as an Auxiliary Board
member. Since David's election to the Universal House of
Justice, Marion was solely responsible for the family publishing
business of George Ronald.
MISS UNA TOWNSHEND
Knight of Bahá'u'lláh page 181
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36 |
Was the first of Hand of the Cause George Townshend's family
to embrace the Faith which her father had espoused many years
previously. She was an active Bahá'í youth and on 16 September
1946 became the first pioneer in Ireland where she opened the
`pivotal centre' of Dublin and was on its first Spiritual Assembly
in 1948. She pioneered to Malta and was the first Knight of
Bahá'u'lláh in that island in October 1953.
JOSEPH LEE page 181
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37 |
Accepted the Faith in Manchester in 1932 and was active on
committees and in the teaching work for over thirty years. He
served on the National Spiritual Assembly from 1933 to 1940
and pioneered to Brighton, Torquay and Exeter, sacrificing
material prosperity over many years in the interests of teaching
and pioneering. He passed away in May 1966 at the age of 55
years.
MRS DOROTHY FERRABY (née Cansdale) page 184
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38 |
Became a Bahá'í and was active in the London Youth group in
the early 1930's. She was elected to the National Spiritual
Assembly in 1941 and served continuously as either Secretary,
Treasurer or Recording Secretary for the next twenty years. She
retired when her husband, Hand of the Cause John Ferraby, left
to serve at the World Centre. That the small and scattered
British Bahá'í community was held together in the 1940's is
generally recognised to have been due to the dedicated work of
Dorothy as Secretary of the National Assembly working
indefatigably in war-torn London. She became an Auxiliary
Board Member in 1954 and was appointed to the European
Board of Counsellors in 1968.
PHILIP HAINSWORTH page 187
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39 |
Accepted the Faith in Bradford in 1938, and at the outbreak of
War was the first British believer to register as a Bahá'í in the
Armed Forces. He had to appeal in Court when seeking
exemption from being involved in the taking of life and, being
released from combatant service, was drafted into the Royal
Army Medical Corps. Prior to his release from military service
in 1946, he spent five weeks in Haifa and in the same year
pioneered to Nottingham. He was appointed Chairman of the
National Youth Committee and Secretary of the National
Teaching Committee and was elected to the National Assembly
in 1947. He subsequently pioneered to Oxford and Blackburn.
In June 1951 he was one of the party of five pioneers who first
went to Dar-es-Salaam and then on to Kampala, Uganda, where
he became Secretary of the first local Spiritual Assembly in 1952
and of the Regional National Assembly in Central and East
Africa in 1956. He returned to pioneer in the Leeds area in 1966,
was elected to the National Assembly in 1967 and is still (1979)
a member.
WALTER WILKINS page 191
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40 |
Born in 1883 Walter embraced the Faith when he was about 40
years old. He was a keen Esperantist through which he learned
of the Faith. He served for many years on the London Spiritual
Assembly and was on the National Assembly for a year in 1934.
Responding to the pioneer call of the Six Year Plan he moved to
Birmingham in 1946, to Blackburn in 1947, to Norwich in
1948, and in 1961 at the age of 78 he pioneered to Canterbury.
At the age of 82 he took a small flat in an old people's home
where for the first time in his life he was able to entertain the
friends and hold Feasts and even an assembly meeting. He passed
away after an accident on 19 March 1973.
MRS ALMA CYNTHIA GREGORY page 191
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41 |
Although she remembers her mother, Louise Ginman, going
from town to town in the United States trying to find the
Master, but reaching the place shortly after He had left, and
speaks with feeling of personal involvement as a Bahá'í youth, of
many early meetings in London at the homes of Lady Blomfield,
Claudia Coles, Ethel Rosenberg, "Mother" George and many
others of that day, she did not formally register as a Bahá'í in the
British Isles until 1942. She pioneered to Northampton in
August 1946 and helped to form its first Assembly, leaving for
Liverpool in 1949 for the same purpose. She subsequently
pioneered to Bristol, Exeter and Stornoway; was the Secretary
of the National Youth Committee when it launched its "Bahá'í
Youth Bulletin" from 1946 to 1948; was Secretary of the
Assembly Development Committee for some years and was a
member of the National Assembly for seven years between 1948
and 1956.
ROBERT CHEEK page 191
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42 |
Became a Bahá'í in London on Naw-Rúz 1945, pioneered to
Bournemouth in September 1946, to Bristol in 1947 to help
form the first Assembly there, and to Norwich in 1948 where
he has lived since except for a short special pioneer project in
Blackburn in 1950-1.
MRS JOAN GIDDINGS (née BROWNE) page 194
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43 |
Accepted the Faith in Bradford in 1938. She pioneered first to
Cardiff and later to York and Canterbury, and was active on
Assemblies and on National Committees throughout her Bahá'í
life. She passed away in Canterbury in 1978. (See also note about
developments in Bradford under "Cyril and Margaret
Jenkerson".)
HUGH AND VIOLET MCKINLEY page 194
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44 |
Hugh McKinley and his mother, Violet McKinley, pioneered
from Torquay to Cardiff in 1947, serving on the first local
Spiritual Assembly when formed there in 1948. Together they
pioneered to Nicosia, Cyprus in 1953, moving to Famagusta in
1958. Violet passed away there in August 1959. In 1966 Hugh
pioneered to Syros in the Cyclades Islands (Greece) and returned
to the United Kingdom in October 1977. ("Bahá'í World", Vol.
XVI, p. 512.)
DR. LUTFU'LLÁH HAKÍM page 195
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45 |
Was born into a family of distinguished Jewish medical doctors
in 1888. His grandfather was the first Jew to embrace the Cause
and Bahá'u'lláh revealed a Tablet in his honour. Lutfu'lláh came
to study physiotherapy in England in 1910 and he was in
constant attendance on the Master during His visit in 1911. He
went to serve in the Holy Land and returned to England in 1920
when he accompanied Shoghi Effendi. He later served with
distinction in Persia and returned, at the request of the Guardian,
to Britain in October 1948, where he taught and travelled
extensively until called to Haifa by the Guardian on 14
November 1950. He was appointed to the first International
Bahá'í Council. He was elected to the first Universal House of
Justice in 1963 but because of failing health and advanced age
regretfully his resignation was accepted in October 1967 though
he consented to serve until the 1968 election. He passed away in
August 1968 and the House cabled the Bahá'í world: "GRIEVE
ANNOUNCE PASSING LUTFU'LLÁH HAKÍM DEDICATED SERVANT
CAUSE GOD. SPECIAL MISSIONS ENTRUSTED HIM, FULL CONFIDENCE
REPOSED IN HIM BY MASTER AND GUARDIAN, HIS CLOSE ASSOCIATION
WITH EARLY DISTINGUISHED BELIEVERS EAST WEST INCLUDING HIS
COLLABORATION ESSLEMONT, HIS SERVICES PERSIA BRITISH ISLES
HOLY LAND, HIS MEMBERSHIP APPOINTED AND ELECTED INTERNATIONAL
BAHÁ'Í COUNCIL, HIS ELECTION UNIVERSAL HOUSE JUSTICE
WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED IMMORTAL ANNALS FAITH
BAHÁ'U'LLÁH." ("Bahá'í World", Vol. XV, pp. 430-4.)
FRED STAHLER page 202
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46 |
Arose to pioneer shortly after accepting the Faith in Manchester
in 1947. He pioneered first to Cardiff, then to Bristol, moved for
varying periods to seven other cities and finally settled in Derby
in 1965.
MRS. PRUDENCE GEORGE page 202
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47 |
Born in England in 1896 she moved to Canada in 1928 where
she accepted the Faith in 1941. She first pioneered from St.
Lambert to Moncton and then from Canada to England with
her young daughter in 1946 to settle in Blackburn, Lancs. From
there to Norwich and Bournemouth in the Six Year Plan and
then to Edinburgh and Portsmouth. In 1959 she pioneered to
Luxembourg and then in the Nine Year Plan, to Guernsey, to
Chelmsford, Essex and again overseas to the Canary Islands. In
1969 she returned to England to pioneer in Hereford and St.
Austell and then back again to the Canaries where she was on the
first Spiritual Assembly of Arucas. For over thirty years she
served the Cause with utter consecration; carrying out at least
sixteen pioneer projects in three continents. She passed away in
Birmingham, England on 12 July 1974. ("Bahá'í World", Vol.
XVI, p. 534.)
JOHN LUDLOW MARSHALL page 210
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48 |
"Johnny" was a Scot, born in 1876, went to work as a tinsmith
at the age of eleven and later, after marriage, settled in
Birmingham to pursue his trade. He was confirmed in the Faith
by the Master, Whom he met in 1911 and 1913, when he was,
for many years, the only Bahá'í in Birmingham. Johnny kept
excellent records of visits and lectures by some of the early
visitors to Birmingham, including Martha Root, Dr. Esslemont,
Mountford Mills and Helen Bishop. At the age of 71 he retired
from work and pioneered to Edinburgh where he died as a result
of an accident in January 1948, only three months before the
first Spiritual Assembly was formed there.
MARY OLGA KATHERINE MILLS,
Knight of Bahá'u'lláh page 210
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49 |
Born in Germany in 1882 with a German father and English
mother she grew up with an insatiable love for travel. In the
United States she married an Englishman. It is not certain when
she accepted the Faith but she was on pilgrimage in 1930 and
stayed for a month as companion to Effie Baker. She was later a
great help to the friends in Berlin and Leipzig and gave much
support to Adam Benke who pioneered to Sofia. After suffering
many privations during the war in Germany she wrote to the
Guardian in 1947 and he encouraged her suggestion to pioneer
to England. She arrived in early 1948 and settled in her first
pioneer post in Nottingham. Within nine months she was again
on the move in response to pioneer calls. Belfast, Edinburgh, St.
Ives, Brighton, and Bournemouth, making six moves in just
over two years by a lady in her late sixties. In 1953 she responded
immediately and was enrolled as a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for
Malta where, after numerous vicissitudes and a small but painful
accident which affected her for many months, she was able, some
twenty years later, to witness the formation of the first Spiritual
Assembly in Malta. She passed away, after twenty-seven years of
dedicated pioneering which covered four territories, in May
1974, when the Universal House of Justice cabled: "PASSING
NOBLE SOUL OLGA MILLS GRIEVOUS LOSS BRITISH BAHÁ'Í COMMUNITY.
HER LONG STEADFAST DEVOTION BAHÁ'U'LLÁH SHEDS LUSTRE
ANNALS FAITH THAT COMMUNITY. ISLAND MALTA HISTORICALLY
FAMOUS CLASSICAL CHRISTIAN ISLAMIC ERAS RECIPIENT NEW
SPIRITUAL POTENTIALITIES THROUGH HEROIC SERVICE KNIGHT
BAHÁ'U'LLÁH DEDICATED BAND PIONEERS. EXPRESS FRIENDS RELATIVES
LOVING SYMPATHY ASSURE ARDENT PRAYERS PROGRESS SOUL."
("Bahá'í World", Vol. XVI, p. 531.)
ALFRED AND EDITH LUCY SUGAR page 210
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50 |
After hearing of the Faith from her brother, E. T. Hall, Lucy
Sugar accepted the Faith on 28 November 1921, but Alfred
remained agnostic until about 1925. He became well known for
his depth of knowledge of the Faith and for his cogent argument.
He was a teacher of the highest order and was largely responsible
for the development of the Faith around Lancashire and over the
Pennines into Bradford and Leeds. Lucy was a member of the
National Assembly in 1929 and Alfred was a member during
eight of the following thirteen years.
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51 |
Alfred died in December 1961 at the age of 92 (or 93) and was
followed in March 1966 by Lucy aged 90.
CHARLES WILLIAM DUNNING,
Knight of Bahá'u'lláh page 211
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52 |
Born in or near Leeds, March 1885. Met and embraced the Faith
in 1948 and within a fortnight offered to pioneer to Belfast.
After serious illness and a period of recuperation in Cardiff, he
served in Sheffield until 1953. "Charlie" answered the Guardian's
call to settle in unopened territories in the Ten Year Crusade and
he arrived in Kirkwall, Orkney in September 1953, opening the
way, "essentially ... alone" for the founding of Kirkwall Spiritual
Assembly. After four years, broken by ill health and persecution,
he was, for his own safety, sent back to Cardiff. After a bad fall
in 1967 from which he never fully recovered, he passed away
quietly in his sleep on Christmas Day, 1967 in Cardiff. ("Bahá'í
World", Vol. XIV, pp. 305-8.)
MISS CLAIRE GUNG page 211
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53 |
Born in Germany, became a Bahá'í in Torquay and later joined
the small Bahá'í group in Cheltenham in 1940. She moved to
Manchester and later pioneered to Northampton in November
1946 to become member of the first Spiritual Assembly there. In
1948 she again pioneered to help form the first Spiritual
Assembly in the "Pivotal Centre" of Cardiff. In 1950, during the
"Year of Respite", Claire became the first pioneer actually to
move from the British community to settle in Africa. Hailed by
the Guardian as the "Mother of Africa" she worked for some
years in Tanganyika and then moved to Uganda where she
established a multi-racial kindergarten; she is still at her pioneer
post at the time of writing (1979).
MRS. LIZZIE FOWLER HAINSWORTH page 211
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54 |
Became a Bahá'í in Bradford in 1946 after replying to her
younger son Philip that she had not become a Bahá'í during his
absence in the Armed Forces because "Nobody had asked me to".
She pioneered to Nottingham in 1946, to Oxford in 1949 and,
at the age of 72, was the first believer in the British Isles to offer
to pioneer in the Two Year Plan to Africa. (Convention 1950.)
She died in Bradford in September 1951 before she could join
her son Philip in Uganda. The Guardian wrote of her through
his secretary, "She has truly shown an exemplary Bahá'í spirit in
every way.... He wishes more of the Bahá'ís would arise to such
heights of devotion and sacrifice."
MISS MARGARET SULLIVAN (later MRS. MARGARET
NELSON) page 211
| |
55 |
Pioneered to Dublin and was on the first Local Assembly there
in 1948. She was Caretaker of the National Hazíratu'l-Quds,
London from December 1970 to August 1976, and then became
a founder member of the Tameside Assembly, Lancashire.
CYRIL AND MARGARET JENKERSON page 217
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56 |
Became Bahá'ís in Bradford in 1940 and pioneered to Oxford to
be members of the first Assembly there in 1949. (It is of interest
to note that in 1938 there were only three Spiritual Assemblies
in the British Isles--in London, Manchester and Bournemouth,
and a total of about eighty registered Bahá'ís, yet in Bradford
there were, during the course of about two years, so many new
registrations that the first Assembly was elected there in 1939
and by 1949 that Community had sent out ten pioneers from its
first twenty-five believers.) The Jenkersons pioneered to Cyprus
in 1978 and are still there (1979).
RICHARD H. BACKWELL page 218
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57 |
Became a Bahá'í in Ceylon in 1944 where he was an officer in
the Royal Air Force. Returning to Britain in 1946, he pioneered
in Nottingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Leeds; was
a member of the National Spiritual Assembly from 1947 until
January 1955 when he pioneered to British Guiana, now Guyana.
He was for a time part-time manager of the Bahá'í Publishing
Trust and Editor of the Bahá'í Journal. After his return from
Guiana, he settled with his family in Northern Ireland in 1963
and again served on the National Assembly until 1968 when he
was appointed an Auxiliary Board Member. His valuable
contributions to Bahá'í literature include the compilations with
which he was associated--"Pattern of Bahá'í Life", "Principles of
Bahá'í Administration", "The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh", "Guidance
for Today and Tomorrow", "A Faith for Everyman", and
his unique approach to the Christians, "The Christianity of Jesus".
He passed away on 4 October 1972 at the age of 58 when the
Universal House of Justice included in their cable: "GRIEF PASSING
EARLY AGE RICHARD BACKWELL GREATLY ASSUAGED TERMINATION
HIS SUFFERING CONTEMPLATION DISTINGUISHED RECORD SERVICE
SOUTH AMERICA BRITISH ISLES SPIRITUAL RADIANCE EVENING
EARTHLY LIFE..." ("Bahá'í World", Vol. XV, pp. 525-27.)
MISS ADA WILLIAMS page 222
| |
58 |
Pioneered to Motherwell in 1948 and then to Blackpool in
1965. She has travelled widely to teach the Faith at home and
overseas, visiting Malta, South Africa and Canada where her
great spirit was most inspiring; she is still travelling (1979).
MRS CONSTANCE LANGDON-DAVIES page 224
| |
59 |
Was one of the early believers in Torquay where she associated
with Mark Tobey, Bernard Leach and other artists and writers
at Dartington Hall. She accepted the Faith in December 1936
and served on the National Assembly for fifteen of the years
from 1938 until her unexpected death in Oxford in December
1954. She had pioneered to help form the first Assembly there
1949.
GEORGE K. MARSHALL page 228
| |
60 |
Became a Bahá'í in 1949 although he had lived most of his life
with his father, one of the early British believers, in Birmingham.
(See "John L. Marshall".) George pioneered for a short while to
Belfast and then in 1950 to Glasgow where he lived for seven
years, except for a short pioneering project to maintain the
Assembly in Edinburgh. He died at an early age on 30 March
1958.
MRS MARGUERITE PRESTON (née Wellby) page 231
| |
61 |
Became a Bahá'í in 1936, was a member of the National
Assembly for three and a half years during the period 1939 to
1945. She married Terence Preston, a Kenya tea grower, in
August 1945 and settled in Kenya where she was the only Bahá'í
until the pioneers began to settle under the Two Year Plan. Her
husband died unexpectedly in July 1951 leaving her with three
young children and she and her eldest child were killed in an
aeroplane crash when she was returning to Kenya after a short
holiday in England, in February 1952.
BERNARD LEACH, C.H., C.B.E. page 239
| |
62 |
It was through Mark Tobey that world famous potter and
author Bernard Leach became a Bahá'í in the early 1930's. He has
through his works, his books, his press, radio and television
interviews introduced the Faith with love, dedication and
dignity to people in many spheres of society in Britain, Japan and
America. He was honoured by Her Majesty the Queen and
made a Companion of Honour. Even at ninety years of age,
though blind, he was serving the Cause with distinction through
his writings and interviews. In March 1977, he opened, with
much favourable publicity, an exhibition of his works at the
Victoria and Albert Museum London. In 1919, when Bernard
was about to leave Japan, the late Soetsu Yangi, the well-known
Japanese art critic and philosopher and Bernard's friend for over
fifty years, paid tribute: "When he leaves us we shall have lost
the one man who knows Japan on its spiritual side... I consider
his position in Japan, and also his mission in his own country to
be pregnant with the deepest meaning. He is trying to knit the
East and West together by art, and it seems likely that he will be
remembered as the first to accomplish as an artist, what for so
long mankind has been dreaming of bringing about...."
He passed away in May 1979 and to the National Assembly the
Universal House of Justice cabled:
"KINDLY EXTEND LOVING SYMPATHY RELATIVES FRIENDS PASSING
DISTINGUISHED VETERAN UPHOLDER FAITH BAHÁ'U'LLÁH BERNARD
LEACH. HONOURS CONFERRED UPON HIM RECOGNITION HIS WORLD-WIDE
FAME CRAFTSMAN POTTER PROMOTER CONCORD EAST AND
WEST ADD LUSTRE ANNALS BRITISH BAHÁ'Í HISTORY AND HIS EAGER
WILLINGNESS USE HIS RENOWN FOR SERVICE FAITH EARN ETERNAL
GRATITUDE FELLOW BELIEVERS. ASSURE ARDENT PRAYERS PROGRESS
HIS SOUL."
SAMUEL SCOTT page 240
| |
63 |
Became a Bahá'í when he was 76 years old and pioneered to
Norwich at the age of 84. He passed away on 31 December
1951, at the age of 86.
JOHN FERRABY,
Hand of the Cause of God. page 250
| |
64 |
Accepted the Faith in 1941 and was elected to the National
Assembly almost immediately. He was Secretary from 1946
until December 1960 when he took up duties at the World
Centre. He was also for a number of years manager of the Bahá'í
Publishing Trust. On his passing in September 1973 the
Universal House of Justice called for memorial meetings "ALL
COMMUNITIES BAHÁ'Í WORLD" and referred to his "VALUABLE
CONTRIBUTION BAHÁ'Í LITERATURE THROUGH HIS BOOK `ALL
THINGS MADE NEW'". ("Bahá'í World", Vol. XVI, p. 511.)
MRS FLORENCE "MOTHER" GEORGE page 256
| |
65 |
Always proud of the designation "Mother" given to her by
`Abdu'l-Bahá when she was one of the early pilgrims to the Holy
Land, it was Mother George who introduced the Faith to Dr.
John Esslemont. For very many years she conducted Sunday
afternoon meetings in her Chelsea home in London and she
passed away on 4 November 1950 at the age of 91. ("Bahá'í
World", Vol. XII, p. 697.)
MÚSÁ BANÁNÍ,
Hand of the Cause of God. page 257
| |
66 |
Pioneered with his wife Samíhih to Uganda in 1951 and was
elevated to the rank of Hand of the Cause in February 1952. The
beloved Guardian also described him as the "spiritual conqueror
of Africa". In spite of failing health he visited most African
territories, served for some five years as the sole Hand of the
African Continent, and finally, after many years of constant
suffering, passed away at his pioneering post in Kampala,
Uganda, on 4 September 1971. The Universal House of Justice
cabled: "PROFOUNDLY MOURN PASSING DEARLY LOVED HAND
CAUSE MÚSÁ BANÁNÍ RECALL WITH DEEP AFFECTION HIS SELFLESS
UNASSUMING PROLONGED SERVICES CRADLE FAITH HIS EXEMPLARY
PIONEERING UGANDA CULMINATING HIS APPOINTMENT AS HAND
CAUSE AFRICA AND PRAISE BELOVED GUARDIAN AS SPIRITUAL
CONQUEROR THAT CONTINENT. INTERMENT HIS REMAINS AFRICAN
SOIL UNDER SHADOW MOTHER TEMPLE ENHANCES SPIRITUAL
LUSTRE THAT BLESSED SPOT. FERVENTLY PRAYING SHRINES PROGRESS
HIS NOBLE SOUL. MAY AFRICA NOW ROBBED STAUNCH VENERABLE
PROMOTER DEFENDER FAITH FOLLOW HIS EXAMPLE CHEER HIS
HEART ABHÁ KINGDOM. CONVEY FAMILY MOST TENDER SYMPATHIES
ADVISE HOLD MEMORIAL MEETINGS ALL COMMUNITIES BAHÁ'Í
WORLD BEFITTING GATHERINGS MOTHER TEMPLES". ("Bahá'í
World", Vol. XV, pp. 421-3.)
`ALÍ NAKHJAVÁNÍ page 257
| |
67 |
Left Persia in early 1951, after service for the Faith in youth and
teaching activities and as a member of the National Assembly, to
join his wife, Violette and her parents, Músá and Samíhih Banání,
in the British Isles, preparatory to their pioneering to Africa. His
teaching activities in Africa took him to remote African villages,
and, later, as assistant to Mr. Banání when he was appointed
Hand of the Cause, to many countries on the African continent.
Elected Chairman of the first Regional National Assembly of
Central and East Africa, then as member of the first elected
International Council and finally as member of the Universal
House of Justice in 1963.
HASSÁN AND ISOBEL SABRÍ page 266
| |
68 |
Hassan, a young Egyptian Bahá'í studying in England in 1945
met Isobel Locke, an American pioneer to England, and they
both served with distinction in the Six Year Plan, Hassan on the
National Youth and National Teaching Committees and the
Nottingham, Birmingham, Belfast, Liverpool, Cardiff and
Bristol Spiritual Assemblies, and Isobel on the Assemblies in
Edinburgh, Blackpool, Sheffield and Bristol, as well as on the
National Teaching Committee. They married in 1951 and
pioneered to Tanganyika and Uganda, where Hassan was on the
first National Spiritual Assembly of Central and East Africa.
Isobel became a Counsellor and Hassan Secretary of the
Continental Pioneer Committee for Africa. They subsequently
pioneered to Kenya where they still serve (1979).
ARTHUR NORTON page 267
| |
69 |
Was the Treasurer of the special fund for the Shrine of the Báb
when he received some letters and receipts. He and his wife
Marion were founder members of the Bradford Bahá'í community
as well as being the first pioneers to Sheffield during the
Six Year Plan. He served on the National Assembly for seven
and a half years during the period 1938-1946, when he was
obliged to retire due to ill-health in December 1946.
ERIC MANTON page 273
| |
70 |
Became a Bahá'í in Northampton in 1946 where he was a
member of the first Spiritual Assembly. He later pioneered to
Edinburgh where he was also on the first Scottish Assembly and
to the virgin territory of Northern Rhodesia in 1951. He was
Chairman of the first National Spiritual Assembly of South
Central Africa in 1964 and of the National Assembly of Zambia
for nine years from its formation in 1967. He has remained at his
post and became a Zambian citizen in 1973.
DR. ABBÁS AND SHOMÁÍS AFNÁN, page 278
| |
71 |
Abbás Afnán was a student in Paris and came to England as a
pioneer to Africa for the Two Year Plan. Shomáís `Alá'í was the
second Persian Bahá'í student to come to Northampton to train
as a nurse and arrived in 1948. They married at Summer School,
Cottingham, Yorkshire in 1951 and pioneered soon afterwards--
Shomáís to Ethiopia and Abbás to Persia. Abbás joined Shomáís
in Africa in 1953. They returned to England in 1958 and opened
the town of Burnley where an Assembly was formed in 1961. In
1975 Abbás pioneered to Newfoundland and Shomáís joined
him in July 1976. Abbás was a member of the National
Assembly from 1964 until his pioneer move, and Shomáís was
active in United Nations' affairs. Shomáís toured Persia in 1971
at the request of the Universal House of Justice, was one of the
representatives of the Bahá'í International Community at the
International Women's Year Convention in Mexico in 1975
and travelled extensively in the British Isles in 1978-1979.
EDMUND (TED) CARDELL,
Knight of Bahá'u'lláh page 281
| |
72 |
Became a Bahá'í in Canada in 1948 and returned to his father's
farm in England some time later. He pioneered to Kenya in
October 1951 where he was a founder member of the first local
Assembly in Nairobi. He became Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for
South West Africa in 1953 and returned to England in 1963. He
was elected to the National Assembly in 1973 and is still a
member (1979).
DR. JOHN GEORGE MITCHELL,
Knight of Bahá'u'lláh page 307
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73 |
Became a Bahá'í in 1950, was member of the National Assembly
from 1952 to 1954 from which he pioneered as a Knight of
Bahá'u'lláh for Malta. He had pioneered for a short while in
Blackpool. He passed away on 19 February 1957 at the age of 50.
("Bahá'í World", Vol. XIII, p. 901.)
MISS IRENE BENNETT page 321
| |
74 |
Became a Bahá'í in Kenya in 1953 and has been in pioneering
posts since that time. She has served in Portugal, Switzerland,
Scotland, Kenya, Uganda (where she was an Auxiliary Board
Member), Nigeria, and is presently (1980) in the Central African
Republic.
MISS DOROTHY WIGINGTON page 362
| |
75 |
Became a Bahá'í at Summer School, Exeter in July 1954 and has
been a staunch member of the Oxford Assembly from January
1955.
ERNEST WILLIAM GREGORY page 381
| |
76 |
Responded to an experimental postal card advertisement in
Sheffield and accepted the Faith there in March 1951. He was
elected to the National Assembly in 1954 when John Mitchell
pioneered to Malta. He served until 1963 when he became an
Auxiliary Board Member. He left in April 1974 to serve at the
World Centre and passed away there in April 1978. The
Universal House of Justice cabled: "ANNOUNCE PASSING TO ABHÁ
KINGDOM MORNING OF FIRST DAY RIDVÁN DISTINGUISHED SERVANT
BAHÁ'U'LLÁH ERNEST GREGORY. HIS OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION
GROWTH BRITISH BAHÁ'Í COMMUNITY AS MEMBER MANY YEARS
NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY AND LATER MEMBER AUXILIARY
BOARD ENSURE HIM HIGH PLACE THAT COMMUNITY'S ANNALS. HIS
STIRLING QUALITIES ENDEARED HIM TO ALL AT WORLD CENTRE
FAITH WHERE HIS LOSS KEENLY FELT. ADVISE BRITISH COMMUNITY
JOIN PRAYERS THANKSGIVING HIS LIFE PROGRESS HIS SOUL."
DR. ERNEST SPENCER MILLER page 395
| |
77 |
Became a Bahá'í in September 1951 in Liverpool and at great
sacrifice left his medical practice to pioneer to Cardiff in 1955.
For some years prior to his death in October 1976, he lived
partly in Liverpool and partly in Anglesey, North Wales. The
Universal House of Justice cabled: "GRIEVED LOSS DEVOTED
BELIEVER ERNEST MILLER WHO RENDERED DISTINGUISHED SERVICES
BRITISH HOME FRONT ENDEARED HIMSELF FELLOW BELIEVERS.
EXTEND SYMPATHY FRIENDS ASSURE ARDENT PRAYERS SACRED
THRESHOLD PROGRESS HIS SOUL ABHÁ KINGDOM."
IAN SEMPLE page 411
| |
78 |
Heard of the Faith at the first public meeting organised by the
Oxford Spiritual Assembly in 1949 and accepted it shortly
afterwards. He was elected to the National Assembly in January
1955 and was a member until Ridván 1961, serving as Secretary
from January 1960 to January 1961. In 1956 he pioneered to
Edinburgh for two and a half years, and was appointed to the
Auxiliary Board for the Propagation of the Faith in November
1957. He was elected to the International Bahá'í Council at
Ridván 1961, and to the Universal House of Justice in 1963.
MISS JEAN M. CAMPBELL page 414
| |
79 |
Jean Campbell accepted the Faith in Oxford in 1949 in time to
be on the first Spiritual Assembly there. She served as the
Assembly secretary for some years, pioneered to Aberdeen in
1959 and then to Malta in February 1964 where she is still at her
pioneer post (1979).
JOHN CHARLES CRAVEN page 416
| |
80 |
Was associated closely with E. T. Hall and Rebecca Hall from
the earliest days of the Faith in Manchester, and remained a
dedicated worker until his death, aged 80 in 1958. "Uncle John"
kept up a wide correspondence with many of the early believers,
and it was in a letter to him that Dr. T. K. Cheyne D.D. made his
"Declaration" of belief in Bahá'u'lláh. He received three Tablets
from the Master and was on the National Assembly for six of the
first eight years. His teaching of the Faith was mostly in the
Altrincham area and among his workmates.
ADDENDUM FOR H. M. BALYUZI page 473
| |
81 |
His crowning work, "Bahá'u'lláh--the King of Glory" was still
at the binders when he passed away at his home in London on 12
February 1980. The Universal House of Justice cabled the Bahá'í
world, "WITH BROKEN HEARTS ANNOUNCE PASSING DEARLY LOVED
HAND CAUSE HASAN BALYUZI. ENTIRE BAHÁ'Í WORLD ROBBED ONE
OF ITS MOST POWERFUL DEFENDERS MOST RESOURCEFUL HISTORIANS.
HIS ILLUSTRIOUS LINEAGE HIS DEVOTED LABOURS DIVINE VINEYARD
HIS OUTSTANDING LITERARY WORKS COMBINED IN IMMORTALISING
HIS HONOURED NAME IN ANNALS BELOVED FAITH. CALL ON FRIENDS
EVERYWHERE HOLD MEMORIAL GATHERINGS. PRAYING SHRINES HIS
EXEMPLARY ACHIEVEMENTS STEADFASTNESS PATIENCE HUMILITY
HIS OUTSTANDING SCHOLARLY PURSUITS WILL INSPIRE MANY
DEVOTED WORKERS AMONG RISING GENERATIONS FOLLOW HIS
GLORIOUS FOOTSTEPS."
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