Born in Ireland in 1859, she married a distinguished
architect, some 30 years her senior, Sir Arthur William Blomfield. They had two
daughters, Mary Esther and Rose Ellinor Cecilia. When Sir Arthur died in 1899,
Lady Blomfield and her two daughters moved from their London house. Later she
began to develop a deep respect for Christianity as taught by Basil
Wilberforce, then archdeacon of Westminster, and would take her daughters every
Sunday to St. John's, Westminster, to hear him preach. Some eight years after
the death of Sir Arthur, Lady Blomfield and her daughter Mary were in Paris,
where they attended a reception at the home of Madam Lucien Monod. It was here
that she met Miss Bertha Herbert, who introduced her to the Baha'i Message,
saying, "If I look happy it is because I am happy. I have found the desire
of my heart." Asked to say more, Miss Herbert said, "It is true!
True! We have been taught to believe that a great Messenger would again be sent
to the world. He would set forth to gather together all the peoples of good
will in every race, nation, and religion on the earth. Now is the appointed
time! He has come! He has come!" Miss Herbert explained that there was a
woman in Paris who had recently visited 'Abdu'l-Baha and said that a meeting
could be arranged for her to hear more. The woman was Miss Ethel Jenner
Rosenberg, who had, in the summer of 1899, become the second Baha'i to enroll
in the British Isles. The Blomfields met with Miss Rosenberg and the first
French Baha'i, the scholar Hippolyte Dreyfus. During this meeting Lady
Blomfield embraced the Baha'i Message. On returning to London the Blomfields
contacted Ethel Rosenberg and Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper and dedicated themselves
to spreading the Faith in England. They were then living at 97 Cadogan Gardens,
London, and in early August 1911 when 'Abdu'l-Baha visited Great Britain, she
invited Him to stay at her house. 'Abdu'l-Baha left London for Paris on 3 October
1911, and Lady Blomfield, her daughters, and a friend, Miss Beatrice Marion
Platt, followed Him, took notes of His talks, and published them under the
title “Paris Talks”.
When World War I began, the Blomfields were living in Geneva
and moved to Paris to work for the French Red Cross. In the spring of 1918 she
received a telephone message that disturbed her greatly: " ‘Abdu'l-Baha in
serious danger. Take immediate action." She went at once to Lord
Lamington, who put the matter into the hands of the Right Honorable Arthur
Balfour, secretary of state for foreign affairs, and a cable was immediately
sent to General Allenby: "Extend every protection and consideration to
'Abdu'l-Baha, His family and His friends, when British march on Haifa."
The Turks had threatened to crucify 'Abdu'l-Baha, but when Allenby took Haifa,
several days before it was believed possible for him to do so, he cabled
London, "Have today taken Palestine. Notify the world that 'Abdu'l-Baha is
safe." Around 1920 Lady Blomfield decided to spend part of each year in
Geneva, and it was there that she befriended Eglantyne Jebb, founder of the
Save the Children Fund, and set up an assisting group, the Blomfield Fund,
under the sponsorship of Lord Weardale in London. During this time she used her
considerable influence to get the five-point text, drawn up by the Save the
Children Fund International, of the Geneva Declaration accepted by the League
in 1924, which eventually was expanded into the Declaration of the Rights of
the Child by the United Nations General Assembly in 1959.
When Shoghi Effendi went to England to perfect his studies
of English at Balliol College, Oxford, he became very close to Lady Blomfield
to the extent that she accompanied him to Haifa in December 1921, following the
news of the passing of 'Abdu'l-Baha. For several months she remained in the
Holy Land assisting him in his new role of Guardian. To the end of her life she
remained dedicated to the service of her beloved Faith. In addition to her
teaching she served for 8 of the first 11 years on the National Spiritual
Assembly of the British Isles. She died on 31 December 1939. On learning of her
passing Shoghi Effendi sent the following cable: "Profoundly grieve
passing dearly beloved outstanding coworker Sitarih Khanum. Memory her glorious
services imperishable. Advise English community hold befitting memorial
gatherings. Assure relatives my heartfelt sympathy loving fervent prayers.
(Adapted from ‘Historical Dictionary of the Baha’i Faith’ by Hugh Adamson)
