This underground bunker lay undisturbed for 30 years after the end of World War II, and is now open to the public in its restored original state. The maps are as they were the day the war ended. It’s moving to contemplate that this is where Churchill and his staff planned the defense of Britain, and the free world. The adjacent museum to the Great Man offers a quite even-handed view of his life, which was relatively undistinguished except when it really counted
General view of The Cabinet Room at CWR. Shot for Film Location. Photographed 7th October 2009.
Imperial War Museums
The maps are as they were the day WWII ended. If you look closely you see thousands of pinpricks where allied and enemy movements were recorded.
Churchill’s room was very little larger than others. It’s said he hated it and spent only one night underground, preferring to be up with the people and sometimes watching the German bombing from the roof of 10 Downing Street.
More Recommendations
Cabinet War Rooms
It’s hard to find a visitor to these “secret” World War II operations rooms who hasn’t immediately told everyone they know about them. Even long-time Londoners find themselves completely amazed by the discovery of these bombproof bunkers hidden beneath Whitehall, and of the secret wartime history they contain. The rooms, set up as if the staff have just stepped out to have a cigarette, give an amazing insight into the lives of those charged with making the most vital and difficult decisions in the war effort. There’s also an exhibition on Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s (sometimes lonely) life, and his extraordinary legacy.
Even Teenagers Love Churchill!
I visited England in the summer of 2015 and took along three of my nieces, ages 14, 16, and 18 at the time. All four of us would put the Churchill War Rooms on our “must see” list. The museum is the actual underground war rooms used by Churchill and his top staff to run the country during the blitz in London. The rooms were never dismantled after the war and decades later they were turned into this very interesting museum. Visitors wind through a maze of rooms to see where the staff planned the war response, slept, and ate. And in the middle of this maze of underground rooms there is a wonderful museum depicting the life of Winston Churchill - as a politician, war leader, family man, artist and more.
