(Baron Greenwood since 1929 and Viscount Greenwood since 1937), was a Liberal M.P.
for sixteen years (1906-1922) and a Conservative M.P. for five (1924-1929), a change in
which Amery undoubtedly played an important role. Lord Greenwood was secretary of
the Overseas Trade Department (1919-1920) and Chief Secretary for Ireland (1920-
1922). In recent years he has been chairman of the board of directors of one of England's
greatest steel firms (Dorman, Long, and Company), treasurer of the Conservative Party,
and president of the British Iron and Steel Federation (1938-1939).
Amery can be regarded as Milner's political heir. From the beginning of his own
political career in 1906 to the death of Milner in 1925, he was more closely associated
with Milner's active political life than any other person. In 1906, when Amery made his
first effort to be elected to Parliament, Milner worked actively in support of his
candidacy. It is probable that this, in spite of Milner's personal prestige, lost more votes
than it gained, for Milner made no effort to conceal his own highly unorthodox ideas. On
17 December 1906, for example, he spoke at Wolverhampton as follows: "Not only am I
an Imperialist of the deepest dye—and Imperialism, you know, is out of fashion—but I
actually believe in universal military training.... I am a Tariff Reformer and one of a
somewhat pronounced type.... I am unable to join in the hue and cry against Socialism.
That there is an odious form of Socialism I admit, a Socialism which attacks wealth
simply because it is wealth, and lives on the cultivation of class hatred. But that is not the
whole story; most assuredly not. There is a nobler Socialism, which so far from springing
from envy, hatred, and uncharitableness, is born of genuine sympathy and a lofty and
wise conception of what is meant by national life." These sentiments may not have won
Amery many votes, but they were largely shared by him, and his associations with Milner
became steadily more intimate. In his last years of public office, Milner was generally
assisted by Amery (1917-1921), and when he died it was Amery who arranged the public
memorial service and controlled the distribution of tickets.
Edward William Mackay Grigg (Sir Edward after 1920, Lord Altrincham since 1945)
is one of the most important members of the Milner Group. On graduating from New
College, he joined the staff of
except for an interval during which he went to South Africa. In 1913 he became joint
editor of
1919, he went with the Prince of Wales on a tour of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
After replacing Kerr for a year or so as secretary to Lloyd George (1921-1922), he was a
Member of Parliament in 1922-1925 and again in 1933-1945. He has also been Governor
of Kenya Colony (1925-1931), parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Information
(1939-1940), Joint Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for War (1940-1942), and
Minister Resident in the Middle East (1944-1945). He also found time to write many
books, such as
(1931),
Another visitor to South Africa during the period of the Kindergarten was H. A. L.
Fisher. Fisher, a famous historian in his own right, can be regarded as one of the founders
of the Kindergarten and was a member of the Milner Group from at least 1899. The chief
recruiting for the Kindergarten, beyond that done by Milner himself, was done by Fisher
and his close friend Sir William Anson. The relationships between these two, Goschen,
and Milner were quite close (except that Milner and Anson were by no means close), and
this quartet had a great deal to do with the formation of the Milner Group and with giving
it a powerful hold on New College and All Souls. Fisher graduated from New College in
1888 and at once became fellow and tutor in the same college. These positions were held,
with interruptions, until 1912, when Fisher left Oxford to become Vice-Chancellor of
Sheffield University. He returned to New College as Warden for the last fifteen years of
his life (1925-1940). Fisher originally expected to tutor in philosophy, but his
appointment required him to teach history. His knowledge in this field was scanty, so it
was amplified by vacation reading with A. L. Smith (the future Master of Balliol, an
older contemporary of Milner's at Balliol, and a member of the Milner Group). Smith, in
addition to teaching Fisher history, also taught him how to skate and to ride a bicycle and
worked with him on the literary remains of Fisher's brother-in-law, Frederic W. Maitland,