Violet Milner, Viscountess Milner facts for kids

Violet Georgina Milner, Viscountess Milner (born Violet Maxse; 1 February 1872 – 10 October 1958) was an English socialite during the Victorian era and Edwardian era. Later, she became the editor of a political magazine called National Review. Her father was a close friend of Georges Clemenceau, who later became the Prime Minister of France. Violet married Lord Edward Cecil, the son of Prime Minister Salisbury. After his death, she married Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner.

Violet's Early Life and Education

Violet was the youngest of four children born to Admiral Frederick Maxse and Cecilia Steel. Her older siblings were Gen. Sir Ivor Maxse, a British Army officer, Leopold Maxse, who also edited the National Review, and Olive Hermione Maxse, who was a model for the artist Edward Burne-Jones.

Violet's father, Admiral Maxse, was known for supporting France after the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. This caught the attention of Georges Clemenceau, and they became good friends. When Violet was a teenager, she lived in Paris for two years. She studied music and art there and often went to the opera and theatre with Clemenceau.

In 1897, Violet celebrated Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. She joined the Cecil family to watch the grand parade in London.

Supporting England in South Africa

In 1899, a war broke out in South Africa between English and Dutch settlers, known as the Second Boer War. Britain sent 2,000 soldiers to the region, including Major Edward Cecil, Violet's first husband.

Violet arrived in Cape Town on 26 July. She often wrote to her cousin, Arthur Balfour, who later became Prime Minister. In her letters, she strongly supported England and the plans of Sir Alfred Milner, who was a high-ranking British official in South Africa.

Violet, her husband, and Alfred Milner became good friends. They lived together at Government House until 14 August, when the Cecils had to move north. When Major Cecil was trapped during the Siege of Mafeking (from October 1899 to May 1900), Violet stayed at Groote Schuur, the home of a wealthy mining leader named Cecil Rhodes. She wrote about her experiences during this time in her book, My Picture Gallery, which was published in 1951.

Violet also exchanged letters with Alfred Milner. In 1901, she helped create the Victoria League with Violet Markham and Edith Lyttelton. This group aimed to promote Milner's vision for the British Empire.

Editor and Peacemaker

In 1932, Violet became the editor of The National Review, a conservative magazine owned by her family. She had been helping with the magazine since her brother Leopold Maxse became ill in 1929. The magazine was known for being against Germany before World War I and against the policy of appeasement (giving in to demands to avoid war) between the two World Wars.

In January 1917, French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau spoke about Lord Milner, saying, "He is an old friend of mine. We admired and loved the same woman. That's an unbreakable bond."

On 11 November 1933, the 15th anniversary of the end of World War I, Viscountess Milner was in France. She helped dedicate a marble statue (called a bust) of her late husband, Alfred, in a meeting room at Doullens Town Hall. This was an important place because on 26 March 1918, during World War I, Lord Milner strongly suggested that the Allied forces on the Western Front should be led by one single commander. This decision, made in a conference attended by Clemenceau and other French and English generals, helped unite the war effort.

Today, Doullens Town Hall has an inscription that says:

"In this town hall, on the 26th of March 1918, the "Allies" entrusted General Foch with the supreme command on the Western Front. This decision saved France and the liberty of the world."

Lord Milner's influence helped General Foch get this important role. On 20 April 1918, Lord Milner made a public statement in a French newspaper, Le Temps, praising the courage of the soldiers and the strong bond between France and Britain.

Violet wrote about her family's long friendship with Georges Clemenceau in The National Review and in her own book, Clemenceau Intime.

She passed away on 10 October 1958, at the age of 86, at her home near Hawkhurst.

Family Life

Violet married her first husband, Lord Edward Cecil, on 18 June 1894. He was the youngest son of Prime Minister Salisbury. Many important people attended their wedding.

Violet and Lord Edward Cecil had two children:

• George Edward Gascoyne-Cecil, born on 9 September 1895. He was a soldier in the Grenadier Guards and was killed in action during First World War on 1 September 1914.
• Helen Mary Gascoyne-Cecil, born on 11 May 1901. She became an author and married Alexander Hardinge, 2nd Baron Hardinge of Penshurst. She died in 1979.

Violet received special honors for her work, including being appointed Grand Dame of the Order of St John and Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur (a high French award).

Lord Edward died on 13 December 1918, from the Spanish influenza. Violet then married Lord Milner on 26 February 1921. They had a very happy marriage. On 22 May 1928, she gave important information about World War I and Lord Milner's role at the Doullens Conference to the Public Records Office.

When Lord Milner died in May 1925, Violet inherited a large sum of money. In 1929, she donated Sturry Court, Milner's home in Canterbury, to The King's School, Canterbury. This site is now the Junior Kings School. She continued to live in her manor home, Great Wigsell, and their London house at 13 Manchester Square.

Images for kids

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  The Bust of Alfred Milner

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  Stained Glass at Doullens Town Hall, commemorating the Doullens Conference and the Unity of Command. Lord Milner is standing, centre

Primary Sources

• The Times (of London) archive website
• Beaverbrook, Lord The Decline and Fall of Lloyd George, New York: Duell, Sloan, 1963
• The London Gazette
• Milner, Violet (Viscountess Milner), My Picture Gallery: 1886 - 1901, London: John Murray, 1951
• O'Brien, Terence, Milner, London: Constable, 1979
• Thompson, J, Lee, Forgotten Patriot: A life of Alfred, Viscount Milner of St James's and Cape Town, 1854-1925, Cranbury, NJ: Rosemont Publishing, 2007
• Hochschild, Adam, To End All Wars, A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918, Boston: Houghton, 2011
• Cecil, Hugh & Mirabel, Imperial Marriage, London: Murray, 2002
• Carpentier, Paul, and Rudet, Paul, "The Doullens Conference", Paris: Pedone, 1933 (translated)
• Aston, George, The Biography of the Late Marshal Foch, New York: MacMillan, 1929
• Amery, Leopold, My Political Life: Volume II, War and Peace, 1914 - 1929, London: Hutchinson, 1953
• The Temps (French newspaper), Digital Archives: Link
• The National Review, Vol. 115, July to December 1940, "Clemenceau", London: The Proprietors, 1940
• Review Des Mondes, 15 February 1953, Clemenceau Intime, Paris: Revue des Deux Mondes, 1953 pdf
• Clemenceau, Georges, Grandeur and Misery of Victory, New York: Harcourt, 1930