Germany during the years 1920-1940; and it controlled and still controls, to a very
considerable extent, the sources and the writing of the history of British Imperial and
foreign policy since the Boer War.
It would be expected that a Group which could number among its achievements such
accomplishments as these would be a familiar subject for discussion among students of
history and public affairs. In this case, the expectation is not realized, partly because of
the deliberate policy of secrecy which this Group has adopted, partly because the Group
itself is not closely integrated but rather appears as a series of overlapping circles or rings
partly concealed by being hidden behind formally organized groups of no obvious
political significance.
This Group, held together, as it is, by the tenuous links of friendship, personal
association, and common ideals is so indefinite in its outlines (especially in recent years)
that it is not always possible to say who is a member and who is not. Indeed, there is no
sharp line of demarcation between those who are members and those who are not, since
"membership" is possessed in varying degrees, and the degree changes at different times.
Sir Alfred Zimmern, for example, while always close to the Group, was in its inner circle
only for a brief period in 1910-1922, thereafter slowly drifting away into the outer orbits
of the Group. Lord Halifax, on the other hand, while close to it from 1903, did not really
become a member until after 1920. Viscount Astor, also close to the Group from its first
beginnings (and much closer than Halifax), moved rapidly to the center of the Group
after 1916, and especially after 1922, and in later years became increasingly a decisive
voice in the Group.
Although the membership of the Milner Group has slowly shifted with the passing
years, the Group still reflects the characteristics of its chief leader and, through him, the
ideological orientation of Balliol in the 1870s. Although the Group did not actually come
into existence until 1891, its history covers a much longer period, since its origins go
back to about 1873. This history can be divided into four periods, of which the first, from
1873 to 1891, could be called the preparatory period and centers about the figures of W.
T. Stead and Alfred Milner. The second period, from 1891 to 1901, could be called the
Rhodes period, although Stead was the chief figure for most of it. The third period, from
1901 to 1922, could be called the New College period and centers about Alfred Milner.
The fourth period, from about 1922 to the present, could be called the All Souls period
and centers about Lord Lothian, Lord Brand, and Lionel Curtis. During these four
periods, the Group grew steadily in power and influence, until about 1939. It was badly
split on the policy of appeasement after 16 March 1939, and received a rude jolt from the
General Election of 1945. Until 1939, however, the expansion in power of the Group was
fairly consistent. This growth was based on the possession by its members of ability,
social connections, and wealth. It is not possible to distinguish the relationship of these
three qualities—a not uncommon situation in England.
Milner was able to dominate this Group because he became the focus or rather the
intersection point of three influences. These we shall call "the Toynbee group," "the Cecil
Bloc," and the "Rhodes secret society." The Toynbee group was a group of political
intellectuals formed at Balliol about 1873 and dominated by Arnold Toynbee and Milner
himself. It was really the group of Milner's personal friends. The Cecil Bloc was a nexus
of political and social power formed by Lord Salisbury and extending from the great
sphere of politics into the fields of education and publicity. In the field of education, its
influence was chiefly visible at Eton and Harrow and at All Souls College, Oxford. In the
field of publicity, its influence was chiefly visible in
period after 1889 and using the economic resources of South Africa to extend and
perpetuate the British Empire.
It is doubtful if Milner could have formed his Group without assistance from all three
of these sources. The Toynbee group gave him the ideology and the personal loyalties
which he needed; the Cecil Bloc gave him the political influence without which his ideas
could easily have died in the seed; and the Rhodes secret society gave him the economic
resources which made it possible for him to create his own group independent of the
Cecil Bloc. By 1902, when the leadership of the Cecil Bloc had fallen from the masterful
grasp of Lord Salisbury into the rather indifferent hands of Arthur Balfour, and Rhodes
had died, leaving Milner as the chief controller of his vast estate, the Milner Group was
already established and had a most hopeful future. The long period of Liberal government