The RSG was founded in February 1917 by J. P. Thorp, who was the drama critic for Punch, to generate policies for the post war reconstruction of Britain for the Lloyd George government.
[2][3] Thorp stated his intention was to bring together a "group of interesting men for a weekly lunch and casual discussion",[4] which became the format of meetings.
[6] Rather than impose on their hostess for too long, the RSG only met in Romney Street for about 18 months, before relocating to the premises of the Garton Foundation in Dean's Yard, Westminster.
[11] The RSG might have also influenced political discourse through journalist members, which included editorial staff at The New Statesman and The Nation & Athenaeum magazine.
[27] Notable early members included numerous left-wing luminaires such as G. D. H. Cole (the first Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory at Oxford and an influential Fabian), Arthur Greenwood (the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in the 1930s and 40s), Lord Lothian (Liberal politician and ambassador to the United States), R. H. Tawney (an influential economic historian and Christian socialist), and Sir Alfred Zimmern (an academic who coined the term "welfare state" and helped found UNESCO).
[1] Other notable members include Professor Lionel Curtis (the founder of Chatham House), Dr Walter Elliot (a Conservative Cabinet minister), Lord Elwyn-Jones (a Labour Attorney General and Lord Chancellor), Professor Harold Laski (chairman of the Labour Party), and E. F. Schumacher (author of Small Is Beautiful).
Meetings shifted into more formal discussions led by an external invited speaker, but lunch remained an essential social feature.
Since 1984, the RSG has held weekly meetings during academic terms in the Athenaeum Club for an informal sandwich lunch, with a 20-minute talk by a guest speaker followed by 40 minutes of Q&A, all under the Chatham House rule.