Cabinet War Rooms
Another exciting day in London has passed - and what an extraordinarily exciting day it has been! When I set out in the morning my original plan had been to visit the Houses of Parliament (apparently they do tours in the summer and because I'm a nerd who is vastly interested in politics I immediately knew that I had to go and do that :)!) and then maybe go for a coffee, but alas, all the English tour tickets were sold out when I got to the ticket office and I didn't really want to buy a German one (is it weird that I'm beginning to develop a bit of an aversion to my mother tongue?) - so I got one for next Saturday instead! Which is really fine, because that way I'll have something to look forward to all week :)!
After buying the ticket I was a bit stumped about what to do next instead - I knew I really wanted to see something, so I started in the general direction of the London Transport Museum (haven't been there yet either), when, quite by accident, I stumbled over the Churchill War Rooms museum. And although like everything in London it was quite expensive I enjoyed it immensely! There was just so much stuff to see, so many interesting historical anecdotes to read, so many brave people to hear about ... I am still in awe, but I'll stop blathering now and show you some pictures instead! ... With maybe the odd anecdote ... And by the way, I hope you can bear with me folks - some of the anecdotes may seem like the most obvious in the world, but as I had a really rubbish history teacher all I knew about Churchill before I went to this museum was that he was the British Prime Minister during WW II. End of story. So ... what came as new and surprising to me might not be that extraordinary to the rest of the world :)!
One other thing I've got to say first still: I had heard before that Churchill was a very skilled writer and speaker, but never got around to hearing or reading one of his speeches. Well, today I got around to it - and he just blew my mind. Really.
To start off, the entrance to the museum from the outside
I love the way they've dedicated themselves to this museum :). Even the entrance is supposed to give you an impression of walking into a bomb shelter - although, as they keep telling you inside, it was never really meant to be one. In fact Churchill himself said something along the lines of that they would definitely all be flattened if a bomb were to drop onto them. Later on, a really massive (about 5 feet thick as wikipedia tells me ^_^) layer of concrete was installed which was called 'the Slab', which provided a bit more protection.
The Cabinet Room
Used for meetings between the Prime Minister, his Chiefs of Staff and a select few ministers of his War Cabinet. Churchill sat in the large wooden chair at the back (right in front of the map). I think it looks very impressive :)! And by the way, a funny side story: apparently, whenever one of the ministers or advisors said something that wasn't to his taste, Churchill used to pretend to be deaf, trying to discourage them from pursuing their point I guess. The especially funny bit is that immediately before that piece of information was given they said that unlike Hitler he always took his time to listen to his advisors ...
Stairs leading down to 'the Docks'
That must have been a bit of a terrible place, really. It was were most of the secretaries and other people who worked for the cabinet slept. Apart from a horribly low ceiling other inconveniences included rats, insects, noise from the ventilation system and no flush toilets, convincing many people to make their way home through a London that was being air raided.
Guard guarding the entrance to the Cabinet Room
The Prime Minister's Office
Directly next to the Map Room (which I will come to later) and his bedroom. The QUIET PLEASE above is of course meant dead serious - apparently Churchill had a real dislike to especially the smallest of noises (among the most hated ones: paper rustling and whatever sound paperclips make).
One of the weather notices
There is actually quite an interesting story connected with these signs. Because Churchill and many of the ministers spent most of their time underground they had somebody put up these notices to tell them how the weather was outside. Apparently, if the sign 'windy' was put up, it meant that there was an air raid going on.
Schedule of Alarm Signals
Interesting enough for me :)! (Where the board's all shiny it says 'imminent danger overhead', by the way.)
The only flush toilet of the war rooms aka Churchill's Transatlantic Telephone Room
This is the room where Churchill talked to Roosevelt and later Truman during the war. In order to make sure that these conversations between the PM and the President really could not be spied upon in any way very few people knew what was behind that white door. Most of the people tended to assume that it was the only flush toilet in the entire basement, reserved solely for Churchill's use, as the lock on the door always read 'engaged'. Clever!
Doodles by General Sir Alan Brook
Drawn at one of the conferences. I don't know, it kind of amuses me that even in serious times like that people were still so ... human I guess :). Plus, he was actually quite good at drawing!
Churchill's Siren Suit
Apparently super comfortable and designed by Churchill himself. I am pretty sure that I read somewhere that it was made primarily for the purpose of having something to quickly put on in the case of air raid - but alas, I am not entirely sure and the Internet can't help me either :(. So I'll just cross my fingers that I'm right! Churchill had them made in quite a lot of colours and different fabrics.
One of the rooms for the higher-ranked people working in the War Rooms
Quite an improvement to the Docks, I think.
Churchill's Dining Room
The kitchen
On a random side note: I think I just discovered myself in the reflection on the glass barrier in the second picture - Robert Webb would be off on one of his rants again, if he knew :)!
The Map Room
Used from the very first to the very last day of the war - and left entirely the way it was on the day of August 16th, 1945 - the day it was closed down. In the maps there are countless pinholes, which mark for example where German submarines had been sunk.
And finally: Churchill's room
Even though he did have a room for himself in the Cabinet War Rooms, Churchill only slept there for three nights. Most of the time he preferred to sleep at No. 10. He did however use it quite a lot for other purposes - consulting with his advisors, meeting politicians and military figures and broadcasting to the British public and the world.
After buying the ticket I was a bit stumped about what to do next instead - I knew I really wanted to see something, so I started in the general direction of the London Transport Museum (haven't been there yet either), when, quite by accident, I stumbled over the Churchill War Rooms museum. And although like everything in London it was quite expensive I enjoyed it immensely! There was just so much stuff to see, so many interesting historical anecdotes to read, so many brave people to hear about ... I am still in awe, but I'll stop blathering now and show you some pictures instead! ... With maybe the odd anecdote ... And by the way, I hope you can bear with me folks - some of the anecdotes may seem like the most obvious in the world, but as I had a really rubbish history teacher all I knew about Churchill before I went to this museum was that he was the British Prime Minister during WW II. End of story. So ... what came as new and surprising to me might not be that extraordinary to the rest of the world :)!
One other thing I've got to say first still: I had heard before that Churchill was a very skilled writer and speaker, but never got around to hearing or reading one of his speeches. Well, today I got around to it - and he just blew my mind. Really.
To start off, the entrance to the museum from the outside
I love the way they've dedicated themselves to this museum :). Even the entrance is supposed to give you an impression of walking into a bomb shelter - although, as they keep telling you inside, it was never really meant to be one. In fact Churchill himself said something along the lines of that they would definitely all be flattened if a bomb were to drop onto them. Later on, a really massive (about 5 feet thick as wikipedia tells me ^_^) layer of concrete was installed which was called 'the Slab', which provided a bit more protection.
The Cabinet Room
Used for meetings between the Prime Minister, his Chiefs of Staff and a select few ministers of his War Cabinet. Churchill sat in the large wooden chair at the back (right in front of the map). I think it looks very impressive :)! And by the way, a funny side story: apparently, whenever one of the ministers or advisors said something that wasn't to his taste, Churchill used to pretend to be deaf, trying to discourage them from pursuing their point I guess. The especially funny bit is that immediately before that piece of information was given they said that unlike Hitler he always took his time to listen to his advisors ...
Stairs leading down to 'the Docks'
That must have been a bit of a terrible place, really. It was were most of the secretaries and other people who worked for the cabinet slept. Apart from a horribly low ceiling other inconveniences included rats, insects, noise from the ventilation system and no flush toilets, convincing many people to make their way home through a London that was being air raided.
Guard guarding the entrance to the Cabinet Room
The Prime Minister's Office
Directly next to the Map Room (which I will come to later) and his bedroom. The QUIET PLEASE above is of course meant dead serious - apparently Churchill had a real dislike to especially the smallest of noises (among the most hated ones: paper rustling and whatever sound paperclips make).
One of the weather notices
There is actually quite an interesting story connected with these signs. Because Churchill and many of the ministers spent most of their time underground they had somebody put up these notices to tell them how the weather was outside. Apparently, if the sign 'windy' was put up, it meant that there was an air raid going on.
Schedule of Alarm Signals
Interesting enough for me :)! (Where the board's all shiny it says 'imminent danger overhead', by the way.)
The only flush toilet of the war rooms aka Churchill's Transatlantic Telephone Room
This is the room where Churchill talked to Roosevelt and later Truman during the war. In order to make sure that these conversations between the PM and the President really could not be spied upon in any way very few people knew what was behind that white door. Most of the people tended to assume that it was the only flush toilet in the entire basement, reserved solely for Churchill's use, as the lock on the door always read 'engaged'. Clever!
Doodles by General Sir Alan Brook
Drawn at one of the conferences. I don't know, it kind of amuses me that even in serious times like that people were still so ... human I guess :). Plus, he was actually quite good at drawing!
Churchill's Siren Suit
Apparently super comfortable and designed by Churchill himself. I am pretty sure that I read somewhere that it was made primarily for the purpose of having something to quickly put on in the case of air raid - but alas, I am not entirely sure and the Internet can't help me either :(. So I'll just cross my fingers that I'm right! Churchill had them made in quite a lot of colours and different fabrics.
One of the rooms for the higher-ranked people working in the War Rooms
Quite an improvement to the Docks, I think.
Churchill's Dining Room
The kitchen
On a random side note: I think I just discovered myself in the reflection on the glass barrier in the second picture - Robert Webb would be off on one of his rants again, if he knew :)!
The Map Room
Used from the very first to the very last day of the war - and left entirely the way it was on the day of August 16th, 1945 - the day it was closed down. In the maps there are countless pinholes, which mark for example where German submarines had been sunk.
And finally: Churchill's room
Even though he did have a room for himself in the Cabinet War Rooms, Churchill only slept there for three nights. Most of the time he preferred to sleep at No. 10. He did however use it quite a lot for other purposes - consulting with his advisors, meeting politicians and military figures and broadcasting to the British public and the world.