The conspiracy that led to the outbreak of World War I was not limited to the one that is taught to students in history classes—the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, Princess Sophie. This was not the primary cause of World War I. Nonetheless, the topic of this piece is the sinking of the Lusitania, the likely plot, and the probable conspirators involved in this catastrophe, who were members of a very powerful secret society.

In the meeting on May 7, 1915, between Colonel House and Edward Grey, who was British Foreign Secretary, and accolide of the Milner Group, the two speak of the probability of a trans-Atlantic passenger liner being attacked and sunk, to which Colonel House says: “If this were done, a flame of indignation would sweep across America. Which would in itself probably carry us into the war.”1 An hour later, House and Grey met with King George V at Buckingham Palace, where this same topic was brought up. King George inquires about an even more specific event: “We fell to talking, strangely enough, of the probability of Germany sinking a trans-Atlantic liner,” and he adds, “Suppose they should sink the Lusitania with American passengers on board…“2 And by an improbable coincidence, later that same day, at 2 in the afternoon, the Lusitania was torpedoed by a German u-boat and sunk.

To President Wilson’s note of May 15, 1915, demanding that the German Government disavow the actions of the submarine commander who sank the Lusitania and provide assurances that such acts would not be repeated, they responded a fortnight later, on May 28, that the Lusitania was an armed cruiser and transport, and thus a vessel of war.3 4

“I see that it will naturally take very great provocation to force your people into war,” Sir Edward Grey wrote to Colonel House on July 14, 1915, two months after Lusitania was sunk. I am very doubtful that anything short of being actually involved in the war will stir your people sufficiently to make them exercise, or enable the President to exercise, all the influence that is possible on the terms of peace. “If they do go to war, I think it is certain that the influence of the United States on the larger aspects of the final conditions of peace will prevail.”5 They didn’t really want peace; they wanted to crush Germany. They knew that there was no chance of peace, but they had to play the peace card first. “On November 11, 1914, the British set out in the most literal sense to starve the German people into submission; an idea best described by First Lord of the British Admiralty Winston Churchill himself when he stated, “The British blockage treated the whole of Germany as if it were a beleaguered fortress, and avowedly sought to starve the whole population – men, women and children, old and young, wounded and sound – into submission.” By 1917, this mission was rapidly coming into fruition, and every month the war was prolonged, the situation in Germany became even more dire.”6

During World War I, Colonel House spoke with a number of influential figures who belonged to British secret organisations, led by Lord Milner. Because he served as the focal point for three influential organisations, Alfred Milner was able to control the Group. These were the “Cecil Bloc,” the “Toynbee Group,” and the “Rhodes Secret Society.” Founded at Balliol in or around 1873, the Toynbee Group was a cabal of political intellectuals led by Alfred Milner and Arnold Toynbee. The Cecil Bloc was a group of powerful people within politics and society, which was formed by Lord Salisbury, its power extending in the field of education, with much influence at Eton and Harrow and at All Souls College, Oxford. The Rhodes secret society was a group of powerful men who were imperial federalists. It was founded in the period after 1889 and manipulated the rich resources of South Africa, which were used to extend and perpetuate the British Empire.7

The previously mentioned Sir Edward Grey was one of the prominent members of the Milner Group that House corresponded with. Lord Salisbury introduced Lord Robert Cecil to the Cecil Bloc; he and other members, such as Arthur Balfour, Baron Quickswood, and Sir Evelyn Cecil, among others, frequently functioned as Lord Salisbury’s secretary and were also recruited from All Souls College.8

“To Milner, to Curtis, and apparently to most members of the Group, democracy was not an unmixed good, or even a good, and far inferior to the rule by the best, or, as Curtis says, by those who ‘have some intellectual capacity for judging the public interest, and, what is no less important, some moral capacity for treating it as paramount to their own.’….The members of the Group did not advocate the immediate extension of democracy and self-government to all people within the Empire, but these restrictions were based not on color of skin or birth but upon cultural outlook and educational background.”9

This short article scarcely suffices to demonstrate that a small group of extremely influential British aristocrats brought about the First World War; nonetheless, a plethora of information from trustworthy sources suggests that they could have. During World War I, Colonel House undoubtedly communicated with a number of these influential Milner Group, Cecil Bloc, and Toynbee Group members. They had important Group members in influential political roles (Lord Edward Grey just to mention one); they had proprietors of well-known newspapers controlling news and propaganda, such as William T. Stead; they had Group members, such as Lord Esher, who had access to Buckingham Palace and were advisors to the kings and queens; and their members controlled All Souls College at Oxford, which is where many of their members were recruited from. You can see how powerful and influential the Group was just by looking at the founding members: The inner circle of the original Rhodes Secret Society, known as “The Society of the Elect,” included Cecil John Rhodes, Nathan Rothschild (Baron Rothschild), Sir Harry Johnston, William T. Stead, Reginald Brett (Lord Esher, or, Viscount Esher), and Alfred Milner (Viscount Milner). Through time, many other important figures were members of The Society of the Elect, including but not limited to Albert Grey (Earl Grey), Archibald Primrose (Earl of Rosebery), Arthur James Balfour, Sir Alfred Lyttelton, Lionel Curtis, Waldorf Astor (Viscount Astor) and his wife, Nancy Astor (Lady Astor), and other dignitaries. And not least, King George V was sympathetic to the Group’s Anglo-American objectives.10

Colonel House, as President Wilson’s key advisor, held enormous influence on the political direction of America at that time. One can imagine that the close relationship between House and the Group members played a major role in America entering World War I and other important decisions. It is indeed very suspicious that House, Grey, and King George V had discussed the sinking of the Lusitania prior to it happening, and that seems too much of a coincidence to be ignored.

  1. “The WWI Conspiracy: Full Documentary.” http://www.youtube.com, m.youtube.com/watch?v=28un0dOUnuk. Accessed April 26, 2024. ↩︎
  2. “The WWI Conspiracy: Full Documentary.” http://www.youtube.com, m.youtube.com/watch?v=28un0dOUnuk. Accessed April 26, 2024. ↩︎
  3. House, Edward Mandell. The Intimate Papers of Colonel House: From Neutrality to War, 1915–1917. 1926. p.215. ↩︎
  4. The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Lusitania | History, Sinking, Facts, & Significance.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, 3 Jan. 2019, http://www.britannica.com/topic/Lusitania-British-ship. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024. ↩︎
  5. House, Edward Mandell. The Intimate Papers of Colonel House: From Neutrality to War, 1915–1917. 1926. p.55. ↩︎
  6. Janicki, David A. “The British Blockade during World War I: The Weapon of Deprivation.” Inquiries Journal, vol. 6, no. 06, 2014, http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/899/4/the-british-blockade-during-world-war-i-the-weapon-of-deprivation. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024. ↩︎
  7. Quigley, Carroll. The Anglo-American Establishment: From Rhodes to Cliveden. Books in Focus, Inc. 1981. p.6. ↩︎
  8. Quigley, Carroll. The Anglo-American Establishment: From Rhodes to Cliveden. Books in Focus, Inc. 1981. p.20. ↩︎
  9. Quigley, Carroll. The Anglo-American Establishment: From Rhodes to Cliveden. Books in Focus, Inc. 1981. p.134. ↩︎
  10. Quigley, Carroll. The Anglo-American Establishment: From Rhodes to Cliveden. Books in Focus, Inc. 1981. p.p.311-312. ↩︎
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