The Monday Night Cabal facts for kids

The Monday Night Cabal was a special group of important people in London. It was started by Leo Amery in early 1916. This group was like a 'ginger group', meaning they wanted to push for changes. Their main goal was to talk about how to win World War I.

The first members of the group included Lord Milner, George Carson, Geoffrey Dawson, Waldorf Astor, and F. S. Oliver. They met for dinner on Monday nights. During these dinners, they discussed important political ideas.

Growing Influence

Throughout 1916, more important people joined the group. Their influence grew stronger. New members included David Lloyd George, who was the Minister of Munitions. General Henry Wilson, Philip Kerr, and Mark Jameson also joined.

The group's ideas even reached Douglas Haig. He was a top military leader. This led him to invite Lord Milner to France in November. Milner spent eight days visiting the Western Front. This was the main battle line of the war.

Changing Government

The Monday Night Cabal played a big part in changing the British government. Geoffrey Dawson, who edited The Times newspaper, was a member. On December 4, 1916, he published a news story called "Reconstruction."

This story helped cause Prime Minister H. H. Asquith to resign. His resignation led to David Lloyd George becoming the new Prime Minister. This was a major shift in leadership during the war.

A New War Cabinet

One of the group's main ideas was to create a small "war cabinet." A war cabinet is a small team of top leaders. Their job is to make quick decisions about fighting a war. The group believed this would help Britain fight the German Empire more effectively.

When Lloyd George became Prime Minister, he created a War Cabinet. He surprisingly chose Lord Milner as one of its five members. This showed how much influence the Monday Night Cabal had on his decisions.