CHURCHILL WAR ROOMS

Description

Essentials about the Churchill War Rooms in brief

For history and military buffs, a visit to the Churchill War Rooms is highly recommended. The War Rooms in the middle of central London are the former secret command center of the British government during World War II. Between 1939 and 1945, the underground building served the War Cabinet under Prime Minister Winston Churchill, his advisors and the military chiefs of staff as a central command post for coordinating British forces worldwide.

The history of the Churchill War Rooms

Construction of the Churchill War Rooms began in the summer of 1938, when the British government was still pursuing a course of appeasement against the German Reich. As a precautionary measure, the ceiling of the War Rooms was reinforced with a three-meter-thick layer of concrete and additional supporting pillars were inserted to protect the rooms against possible German air raids. By the start of World War II on August 27, 1939, the Churchill War Rooms were finally fully operational.

With the end of World War II, the Churchill War Rooms were no longer needed and were decommissioned. It was not until the early 1980s that they were opened to the public in their present form. Originally called the Cabinet War Rooms, the building was renamed the Churchill War Rooms with the addition of a museum about then-Prime Minister Churchill.