65 Facts About Alfred Milner

Alfred Milner's wife was a daughter of Major General John Ready, former Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island and later the Isle of Man.

Alfred Milner remained in Egypt for four years, his period of office coinciding with the first great reforms, after the danger of bankruptcy had been avoided.

Alfred Milner remained at the Board of Inland Revenue until 1897.

Alfred Milner was regarded as one of the clearest-headed and most judicious officials in the British service, and his position as a man of moderate Liberal views, who had been so closely associated with Goschen at the Treasury, Cromer in Egypt and Hicks-Beach and Sir William Vernon Harcourt while at the Inland Revenue, marked him as one in whom all parties might have confidence.

Alfred Milner reached the Cape in May 1897 and by August, after the difficulties with President Kruger over the Aliens' Law had been patched up, he was free to make himself personally acquainted with the country and peoples before deciding on the lines of policy to be adopted.

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Alfred Milner came to the conclusion that there could be no hope of peace and progress in South Africa while there remained the "permanent subjection of British to Dutch in one of the Republics".

Alfred Milner was referring to the situation in the Transvaal where, in the aftermath of the discovery of gold, thousands of fortune seekers had flocked from all over Europe, but mostly Britain.

Transvaal Republic stood in the way of Britain's "Cape to Cairo" ambitions, and Alfred Milner realised that, with the discovery of gold in the Transvaal, the balance of power in South Africa had shifted from Cape Town to Johannesburg.

Alfred Milner feared that if the whole of South Africa were not quickly brought under British control, the newly wealthy Transvaal, controlled by Afrikaners, could unite with Cape Afrikaners and jeopardise the entire British position in South Africa.

Alfred Milner realised—as was shown by the triumphant re-election of Paul Kruger to the presidency of the Transvaal in February 1898—that the Pretoria government would never on its own initiative redress the grievances of the Uitlanders.

Later in 1899, Alfred Milner met Violet Cecil, the wife of Major Lord Edward Cecil.

Alfred Milner had a noticeable effect on his disposition, Milner himself wrote in his diary that he was feeling "very low indeed".

Alfred Milner held hostile views towards the Afrikaners, and became the most prominent voice in the British government advocating war with the Boer republics to secure British control over the region.

Alfred Milner founded a series of schools known as the "Milner Schools" in South Africa.

Alfred Milner's difficulties were increased when, at the general election in Cape Colony, the Bond obtained a majority.

In October 1898, acting strictly in a constitutional manner, Alfred Milner called upon William Philip Schreiner to form a ministry, though aware that such a ministry would be opposed to any direct intervention of Great Britain in the Transvaal.

Alfred Milner returned to Cape Colony in February 1899, fully assured of Joseph Chamberlain's support, though the government still clung to the hope that the moderate section of the Cape and Orange Free State Dutch would induce Kruger to give the vote to the Uitlanders.

Alfred Milner found the situation more critical than when he had left, ten weeks previously.

Johannesburg was in a ferment, while William Francis Butler, who acted as high commissioner in Alfred Milner's absence, had allowed the inference that he did not support Uitlander grievances.

Alfred Milner made three demands, which he knew could not be accepted by Kruger: The enactment by the Transvaal of a franchise law which would at once give the Uitlanders the vote; the use of English in the Transvaal parliament; and that all laws of the parliament should be vetted and approved by the British parliament.

Alfred Milner thereupon resigned the governorship of Cape Colony, while retaining the post of high commissioner.

Alfred Milner therefore returned to England to spend a "hard-begged holiday, " which was mainly occupied in work at the Colonial Office.

Alfred Milner reached London on 24 May 1901, had an audience with Edward VII on the same day, received the GCB and was made a privy councillor, and was raised to the peerage as Baron Milner, of St James's in the County of London and of Cape Town in the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope.

Alfred Milner bitterly fought Lord Kitchener, the Commander-in-Chief in South Africa, who ultimately won out.

However Alfred Milner drafted the terms of surrender, signed in Pretoria on 31 May 1902.

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Alfred Milner, who was then spending a brief holiday in Europe, was urged by Arthur Balfour to take the vacant post of secretary of state for the colonies.

Alfred Milner declined the offer on 30 September 1903, considering it more important to complete his work in South Africa, where economic depression was becoming pronounced.

Alfred Milner left South Africa while the economic crisis was still acute and at a time when the voice of the critic was audible everywhere but, in the words of the colonial secretary Alfred Lyttelton, he had in the eight eventful years of his administration laid deep and strong the foundation upon which a united South Africa would arise to become one of the great states of the empire.

Alfred Milner advocated the creation of a permanent deliberative imperial council, and favoured preferential trade relations between the United Kingdom and the other members of the empire; and in later years he took an active part in advocating the cause of tariff reform and Imperial Preference.

Alfred Milner was the founder of The Round Table – A Quarterly Review of the Politics of the British Empire, which helped to promote the cause of imperial federation in Britain.

Flogging was used to deal with insubordination, and whether he knew about it at the time or not, Lord Alfred Milner accepted full responsibility for what happened, and he said it was a bad practice.

From a letter published in The Times on 27 May 1915, Lord Alfred Milner was asked to head the National Service League during the First World War.

Lord Alfred Milner was an outspoken critic of the Dardanelles Campaign, speaking in the House of Lords on 14 October 1915 and 8 November 1915, and suggesting a withdrawal.

Lord Alfred Milner, thinking that the Liberal led Asquith Coalition could be defeated, envisioned a new political party composed of trade workers, called, the, National Democratic and Labour Party.

However, Alfred Milner had previously committed himself to supervising the government's three coal committees, at the request of Lord Robert Cecil.

On 2 December 1916, Lord Alfred Milner dined with Arthur Steel-Maitland, Chairman of the Conservative Party, where he was asked to draft a letter describing the war committee he envisioned.

Alfred Milner insisted that he himself must chair the war committee, causing Lloyd George to resign from the government.

On 8 December 1916, Lord Alfred Milner received a letter from Prime Minister Lloyd George, asking him to meet him, and to join the new war cabinet, which was to meet the next day at the War Office.

Since Alfred Milner was the Briton who had the most experience in civil direction of a war, Lloyd George turned to him on 9 December 1916 when he formed his national government.

Alfred Milner is a poor man and so am I Alfred Milner does not represent the landed or capitalist classes any more than I do.

Alfred Milner became Lloyd George's firefighter in many crises and one of the most powerful voices in the conduct of the war.

Alfred Milner gradually became disenchanted with the military leaders whose offensives generated large casualties for little apparent result, but who still enjoyed support from many politicians.

Alfred Milner backed Lloyd George, who was even more disenchanted with the military, in successful moves to remove the civilian and military heads of the Army and Navy.

Alfred Milner himself replaced the Earl of Derby as Secretary of State for War in April 1918.

Alfred Milner was an old family friend of Margaret Hobhouse, the mother of imprisoned peace activist Stephen Henry Hobhouse and was Stephen's proxy godfather.

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In 1917, when Margaret was working to get her son and other British conscientious objectors freed from prison, Alfred Milner discreetly helped, intervening with high government officials.

Alfred Milner was involved in every major policy decision taken by Prime Minister George's Government in the war, including the Flanders Offensive of 1917, which he initially opposed, along with Bonar Law and Lloyd George.

Alfred Milner attended all subsequent follow up meetings in Versailles to coordinate the war.

Alfred Milner was a chief author of the Balfour Declaration, although it was issued in the name of Arthur Balfour.

Alfred Milner was a highly outspoken critic of the Austro-Hungarian war in Serbia arguing that "there is more widespread desolation being caused there we have been familiar with in the case of Belgium".

Alfred Milner preferred Foch, he was firm about it, and Clemenceau agreed.

Alfred Milner never got the recognition due to the part he played in the proceedings at Doullens when General Foch was appointed Generalissimo of the Allied Forces.

Lord Alfred Milner's decision is best summed up by an inscription at the front of Doullens Town Hall that reads.

Alfred Milner was present at an important meeting at 23 Rue Nitot, Lloyd George's flat in Paris, on June 1,1919, when the Empire Delegation discussed Germany's counterproposals to the peace treaty.

Alfred Milner told them that without substantial changes to bring the treaty closer in line with the 14 Points, England would not take part in an occupation of Germany, nor would its navy resume its blockade of Germany if it failed to sign the treaty.

Alfred Milner arrived slightly after 2pm, and he signed the treaty early.

Right until the end of his life, Lord Alfred Milner would call himself a "British race patriot" with grand dreams of a global Imperial parliament, headquartered in London, seating delegates of British descent from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Alfred Milner retired in February 1921 and was appointed a Knight of the Garter on 16 February 1921.

Alfred Milner's work proved unsuccessful when, following an election, Ramsay MacDonald assumed the office of Prime Minister in January 1924.

Seven weeks past his 71st birthday, Alfred Milner died at Great Wigsell, East Sussex, of sleeping sickness, soon after returning from South Africa.

Alfred Milner's body was buried in the graveyard of the Church of St Mary the Virgin, in Salehurst in the county of East Sussex.

Alfred Milner was instrumental in making Empire Day a national holiday on 24 May 1916.

Lord Alfred Milner is seated third from the right in William Orpen's famous Hall of Mirrors painting.

Alfred Milner was lionised, along with other members of the British War Cabinet, in an oil painting, Statesmen of World War I, on display today at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Alfred Milner's reputation exceeded his achievements: Office and honours were heaped upon him despite his lack of identification with either major political party.

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