‘Abdu’l-Bahá anticipated that conditions of hardship would appear

‘Abdu’l-Bahá anticipated that conditions of hardship would appear with these events, and began to instruct people in the villages of Nughayb, Samrih and ‘Adasiyyih in Palestine to grow prolific quantities of corn, much of which was harvested and stored in vast ancient Roman pits.  When World War I broke out, this corn was used to feed the numberless poor people of Haifa, Akká and the surrounding areas during the famine years of 1914-1918.  When the British army marched into Haifa, the commanding officer requested a meeting with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who graciously gave His consent for the corn to be distributed among the starving Britons. During the period of British occupation, large numbers of soldiers and Government officials of all ranks delighted in the company of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in His illuminating talks, His noble character, His genial hospitality, perfect courtesy and efforts to establish peace and prosperity throughout the world. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá averted a famine and uplifted countless souls, and in recognition of this, on the 27 April 1920, a Knighthood of the British Empire was conferred upon Him for “services rendered unto the British government”.

Source: Lady Blomfield, The Chosen Highway

Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: knighthood-abdul-baha).

Various. *bahaistories.com archive*. https://bahaistories.com/subject/knighthood-abdul-baha