{"id":9905,"date":"2022-02-10T17:31:48","date_gmt":"2022-02-10T17:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulysses.travel\/churchill-war-rooms-london\/"},"modified":"2024-01-18T14:43:21","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T14:43:21","slug":"churchill-war-rooms-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ulysses.travel\/en\/churchill-war-rooms-london\/","title":{"rendered":"The Churchill War Rooms in London"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In the heart of Westminster, a short walk from Downing Street, the Churchill War Rooms invite visitors on a journey through history to discover the secret bunker where Winston Churchill set up his command post during the Second World War. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\ud83d\udca1 The Captain\u2019s tip<\/strong> \ud83d\udca1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Want to know more about the history of London?<\/strong> Captain Ulysses highly recommends this free guided tour of the capital<\/a><\/mark>. It\u2019s up to you to choose how much you wish to tip the tour guide!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for a hotel in London?<\/strong> Be sure to check out the Captain’s article: Where to stay in London? Advice & recommendations<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Brief history of the Churchill War Rooms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The bunker before the war<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the 1930s, the need to build secret underground headquarters in London where the political and military powers could take refuge if war were to be declared became more and more pressing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The construction of the secret command post began in 1938\nunder the British Treasury building, Whitehall,\nand was completed on August 27, 1939, a week before Britain\ndeclared war on Germany. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Churchill’s bunker during the war<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In October 1939, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain held the first war council in the War Rooms. Following his election in May 1940, Churchill, now Prime Minister, took over the War Rooms to direct the war effort underground, sheltered from German bombing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same year, during the London Blitz, the walls were\nreinforced with concrete (some are 1.50 meters thick),\nand the infrastructures were extended the following year to accommodate\nnew offices and dormitories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Churchill had his very own bedroom\nin the War Rooms, he rarely slept in the bunker during the war and mostly preferred to return to 10\nDowning Street. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August 1945, the Japanese surrender marked the end of the\nwar: the Churchill War Rooms were closed and Churchill and his\nadvisors are finally were able to rule the country from more convential offices, in broad daylight!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Churchill War Rooms after the war<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Three years after the end of the war, the Churchill War Rooms\nbecame a national monument. But the bunker was open to the public much later,\nin 1984. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Churchill<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Visiting the Churchill War Rooms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Churchill War Rooms are divided into two separate areas:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n