Which society did J.R.R. Tolkien help form while studying at King Edward’s School?

J.R.R. Tolkien helped form the Tea Club and Barrovian Society while studying at King Edward’s School in Birmingham.

The group, commonly abbreviated TCBS, was formed by Tolkien and several school friends, including Geoffrey Bache Smith, Robert Gilson, and Christopher Wiseman. Its members met to discuss literature, art, and their ambitions as writers and creators.

The society mattered personally and artistically to Tolkien. The friendships continued after school, although the First World War brought profound loss: Gilson and Smith were killed during the conflict. Smith’s death especially affected Tolkien, who later remembered the group’s idealistic hopes and creative fellowship.

The TCBS is often confused with the Inklings, the Oxford literary discussion group Tolkien joined much later. The two groups were separated by years and belonged to different periods of Tolkien’s life.