The Promised Son — Page 28
28 [A Gift to the Queen] to Queen Victoria on the occasion of her golden jubilee. These efforts by the Promised Messiah as soon bore fruit. In 1913, the first dedicated missionary to the UK, Maulana Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Sayyal, arrived and rented an apartment at 4 Star Street in London. One of the first achievements under the Khilafat of Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad ra was the purchase of a house and grounds in 1914 at 63 Melrose Road in London. This was the first Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission outside of the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent. Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad ra first came to the UK in August 1924. His mission was twofold, firstly to address the Great Conference of Living Religions held at Wembley in September 1924 and secondly, to lay the foundation of the Fazl Mosque (also known as the London Mosque). Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad ra accepted the invitation by the organisers of the conference to attend and began preparations for the long journey by road, sea, and rail from Qadian to London. He decided to take 12 of his companions with him on the journey. He also requested Sir Chaudhry Zafrulla Khan ra who was already in England to meet him. The journey was a long and arduous affair through many different countries. He met the Prime Minister of Italy, Benito Mussolini enroute. His arrival in London was greeted with great fanfare by