Birth of Thomas Breakwell, considered the first English Bahá'í, in Woking, Surrey, England.
• In fact Ethel Rosenberg declared two years before him.
• The very first in England was probably Marion Miller who became a Bahá'í in 1894 in Chicago and came to England in 1895. Marion Miller taught the faith to her aunt, Miss M. Brown of Bushey in Hertfordshire, who converted in 1896 or 97. Miss Miller later left the Faith and no-one knows what became of Miss Brown. [BBC Religions]

`Abdu'l-Bahá received guests from the Muslim Community of Britain and was asked to speak at the Shah Jehan Mosque at Woking, one of the two mosques in England at the time and the first built in England and perhaps Western Europe. He spoke on the subject of the Unity of Religions and translation was done by Mírzá Ahmad Sohrab. [CH152, AB370, BW3p278-279, BW4p377]
• Note ABTM303 reports that this event took place on the 17th of January.
• Dr. Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner (1840–1899) was the builder of the Oriental Institute, founded to train Asians living in Europe for the learned professions, to the study of linguistics and culture, and for the teaching of languages to Europeans who wished to travel to the East. To cater for the spiritual needs of students of all major faiths and to provide for any who lived within reach, Dr. Leitner intended to build a synagogue, a church, a temple and a mosque. Only the Shah Jehan Mosque was completed. (Oct-Nov 1889). The Institute relied too heavily upon Dr. Leitner's personal enthusiasm and wealth and it did not survive his early death in March of 1899. The Mosque was closed and practically empty between 1899 and 1912. Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din, a prominent Kashmiri lawyer and founder of the Woking Muslim Mission, worked to repair and re-open the Mosque in 1913. It was the first formal place of Islamic worship in England and became a centre of Islam in the UK. [Dr. Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner]
• For a photo of the gathering see BW3p280 or BWNS818.

From Saskatoon Star Phoenix
18 August 2021
thestarphoenix.remembering.ca/obituary/bruce-filson-1083051604:

The beloved soul of Bruce Kenneth Filson winged its flight from this earthly plane on August 13, 2021. Bruce, aged 68, was surrounded by family after fighting a sudden battle with aggressive cancer and associated complications. Dear father, husband, brother, son, and community member, Bruce "contained multitudes." His joie de vivre and the ever-present twinkle in his eye will not be quickly forgotten.

Born in 1952 in Saskatoon, Bruce was raised initially on a farm and then in the city. During his high school years at Evan Hardy Collegiate, he was elected co-leader of the student council and played football for the Hardy Souls, helping take the team to the provincial championship game. He remained a lifelong sports fan, following football, baseball, World Cup soccer, and Olympic and other sports, and he played golf into his final year.

Though he and his wife, Margaret Bremner, grew up mere blocks from one another and attended the same high school at the same time, they only truly met as undergraduate students when each joined the Bahá'í Faith. They married in 1978 and raised three daughters together (as well as a dog, two cats, three rabbits, and who knows how many fish).

Bruce studied French at the U of S and later earned a master's degree in Comparative Literature from Carleton University and a Bachelor of Education degree from the Université du Quebec à Rimouski. He was a language lover and gained skill with English, French, German, and Mandarin. In order to serve the needs of the international Bahá'í community and for his own edification he left Saskatchewan after university and moved to Rimouski, QC, then Montreal, and then the Ottawa area. He later left Canada for periods of time, living and working in China and Dominica. In his final years he had moved to Surrey, BC, to be nearer children and grandchildren.

Bruce had a diverse and colourful vocational life which, though it met with little financial success, was fulfilling and rich in every other respect. For a number of years, in Canada and in China, he taught high school and college-level English and French. But he also worked variously throughout the years as a writer, publisher, translator, salesman, and civil servant. He was a newspaperman in the perpetual year of 1886 at Upper Canada Village, a living history site in Ontario. In the early 1990s he co-founded and ran Nine Pines Publishing, remembered for its contributions to Bahá'í literature (notable works published include The Psychology of Spirituality by Dr. H.B. Danesh; Fires in Many Hearts, the memoir of Doris McKay; and poetry and prose by long-time Bahá'í pioneer to the Magdalen Islands, Larry Rowdon). Later he co-founded and founded small presses September House and September Pines as well. B.K. Filson was himself also a poet: his work was published in various journals and in two volumes (Angel Ruckus and Parallelograms); he led workshops and gave readings; and he was an active member of writers' groups in Ottawa, ON and Surrey, BC. He won an award for Excellence in Bahá'í Studies: Creative Writing from the Association of Bahá'í Studies and gave a reading of one of his long poems at an annual ABS conference.

More recently he was delighted and proud to have opened and owned King Me Boardgamery and Café in Saskatoon and, still more recently, run the online game shop Mr. Dice Guy. His fondness for tabletop games and good coffee, his commitment to building community, his desire to provide a gathering space for friends young and old, and his love of teaching and learning combined with his friendly demeanour meant that the establishment in 2017 and success of King Me constituted a professional and personal dream achieved.

Bruce's life as a Bahá'í, his dedicated service to the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh, was a hallmark and a guiding light to others. He joined the Faith in 1971 and travelled to Quebec, China, and Dominica to assist the Faith. He served as an elected member of Spiritual Assemblies in Rimouski, Montréal, Hull (now Gatineau), Osgoode (now amalgamated into Ottawa), and Saskatoon. He sometimes served as a delegate to the Bahá'í National Convention, once alongside his brother Gerald. He and Margaret also served as custodians of the Bahá'í Shrine in Montréal for five years, receiving Hand of the Cause Rúhíyyih Khánum in their suite during her visits to Canada.

Bruce is survived by his wife of 43 years, Margaret Bremner, brothers Glen (Luisa) and Gerald (Judy) and sister Mary Jane (Shane English), daughters Chloë (Robin Wilson), Lydia (Gregory Coles), and Veronica (Shahruz Moshtael), granddaughters Gavia, Ida, and Fern, and a baby grandson soon to arrive. He was predeceased by his eldest brother Robert in 2011.

Interrment and a memorial program will take place at 1 p.m. (PST; arrive at 12:45) on Friday, August 20 at Valley View Memorial Gardens in Surrey, BC. The program will be live-streamed for far-away mourners.

Published on August 18, 2021