Churchill War Rooms

08/12/2022

Naval officer Commander Charles 'Tommy' Thompson was Churchill's aide-de-camp - a kind of military personal assistant. He was rarely seen away from Churchill's side during the war, so it is no surprise that he was given emergency accommodation in the War Rooms.

One of Thompson's duties involved making travel arrangements for the Prime Minister's entourage and baggage, no mean feat considering how unpredictable Churchill's movements could be.

Pictured is a razor on display in Thompson's Room. See these historic rooms left exactly as they were. Book your visit to Churchill War Rooms today: https://bit.ly/3VulNjy

05/12/2022

Winston Churchill reads a newspaper while waiting for a train at St Andrews, Scotland during a tour of Britain's coastal defences, 23 October 1940. Churchill had become Prime Minister earlier that year.

© IWM H 4985

03/12/2022

For the next 12 days, we'll be bringing you a new deal every day from the online shop: bit.ly/3FkYiUM

Today's deal: Up to 30% off selected decorations and confectionery: bit.ly/3uq7EYZ

Make sure to check in each day until 14 December and discover each new deal.

02/12/2022

We were pleased to welcome back comedian and co-host of the bi-weekly Second World War history podcast 'We Have Ways of Making You Talk', Al Murray, last week. Al joined IWM curator Kate Clements for a tour of Churchill War Rooms.

29/11/2022

This photograph of Mrs Churchill's bedroom at the Cabinet War Rooms, taken in 1946, was one of a series that proved vital to the restoration of the rooms in the Churchill Suite.

Discover these historic rooms, left exactly as they were. Plan your visit to Churchill War Rooms today: https://bit.ly/3GuavHQ

© IWM HU 43546

26/11/2022

It was as a journalist for the Morning Post that Churchill travelled to South Africa to cover the Boer War in 1899. Eager to get where the action was, he undertook a risky journey on an armoured train and was captured.

He was not a prisoner for long. When one of the guards turned from his post to light a pipe, he climbed over a wall and jumped onto a passing coal train. This daring escape story turned Churchill into something of a celebrity.

Here Churchill can be seen standing to the right of a group of prisoners, having been captured by the Boers.

© IWM ZZZ 7150D

25/11/2022

Get 15% off in our online shop this Black Friday by using code BF22 at the checkout.

Explore the entire Christmas collection on the IWM Shop: bit.ly/3V5YRqW

By shopping with IWM, you're helping us to conserve our world-leading collections for future generations.

24/11/2022

Winston Churchill delivering a speech beneath a large poster of Abraham Lincoln during a celebration of American Thanksgiving Day at the Royal Albert Hall in London, 23 November 1944.

Churchill had American ancestry - his mother, the beautiful American heiress Jennie Jerome, was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1854.

© IWM EA 44805

16/11/2022

'Why, you may take the most gallant sailor, the most intrepid airman, or the most audacious soldier, put them at a table together - what do you get? The sum total of their fears!'

- Churchill privately criticises the Chiefs of Staff system, 16 November 1943.

A new display in the Chiefs of Staff Conference Room at Churchill War Rooms recreates a special meeting held in 1944 to discuss reprisals for German V-1 flying bomb attacks.

Plan your visit to Churchill War Rooms: https://bit.ly/3EdzBck

14/11/2022

Visit Churchill War Rooms

Discover London's must-see attraction, hidden beneath the streets of Westminster.

A visit to Churchill War Rooms includes both the rooms of Winston Churchill's secret Second World War headquarters, left exactly as they were, and the extensive Churchill Museum.

Plan your visit to Churchill War Rooms today: https://bit.ly/3R80tgY

11/11/2022

Today we mark Armistice Day, 104 years since the signing of the armistice brought an end to hostilities on the Western Front and began a peace process which would end the First World War.

At the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month – we will remember them.

© IWM Q 78616

08/11/2022

In a speech to the House of Commons on 22 February 1944, Churchill remarked: 'There are many dangers and difficulties in making speeches at this moment...

Now that we are in the closest relation on either side with our great Allies, every word spoken has to be in consideration of them.'

Here, Churchill talks with members of a US airborne unit and American War correspondents in March 1944.

© IWM EA 18274

07/11/2022

This December will see a celebration of the Second World War’s most hard-working fighter aircraft, the Hawker Hurricane, with the opening of Hurricane: Unsung Hero at IWM Duxford.

With only fourteen airworthy Hurricanes remaining in the world, this spotlight exhibition will offer a unique opportunity to see seven of these brought together under one roof to explore the rich history of Fighter Command’s finest enemy destroyer.

Often overlooked in favour of the Spitfire, the Hurricane accounted for sixty percent of air victories in the Battle of Britain and highlights of this new spotlight exhibition include a Hurricane MK1 veteran from the summer of 1940, the world’s only two-seater Hurricane and a Sea Hurricane Mk1b which was received by No 880 Squadron, the first Fleet Air Arm Squadron to be equipped with Hurricanes.

Hurricane: Unsung Hero runs at IWM Duxford for a limited time only from 27th December to 19th February. Find out more here: https://bit.ly/3zReL01

05/11/2022

The IWM Christmas range has landed!

Cosy up this festive season in our brand new Santa in a Spitfire Jumper and Socks:
https://bit.ly/3sY6tzn

Explore the entire Christmas range on the IWM Shop: https://bit.ly/3WviaL

04/11/2022

Churchill buying an 'Aid to Russia' flag from his wife, Clementine, 9 December 1941. Among her other roles, Clementine was chair of the Joint War Organisation's Aid to Russia fund.

Set up in October 1941, by the time it closed the fund had raised more than £7 million through fund-raising drives, penny-a-week schemes, collections in workplaces, flag days and sporting events.

The proceeds bought 11,600 tons of medical supplies and clothing for the Soviet Union, including medicines and surgical equipment.

© IWM H 16020

01/11/2022

Winston Churchill poses on the steps of the Admiralty building in London. On becoming First Lord of the Admiralty at the outbreak of war in 1939, Churchill was returning to an office he had formerly held from 1911 to 1915.

On arrival, he sent a signal to the entire Royal Navy: 'Winston is back'. He would not stay in this post long however - within a year he would become prime minister.

© IWM HU 5547

27/10/2022

Office of Works official George Rance was responsible for adjusting the weather indicator in the main corridor of the Cabinet War Rooms to let staff know what conditions were like outside.

When a heavy raid was in progress, Rance, as an in-joke, would update the indicator to display the word 'Windy', slang meaning afraid.

© IWM HU 43777

25/10/2022

In November 1944, Churchill visited Paris at the invitation of General Charles de Gaulle and was moved to tears by the tremendous welcome from the crowds lining the Champs-Élysées.

General de Gaulle had led Free France against N**i Germany in the Second World War. Here the two men can be seen inspecting French troops at Marrakesh in January earlier that year.

© IWM TR 1505

24/10/2022

On 7 September 1940, Germany launched the 'Blitz' - a sustained bombing campaign against British towns and cities, with London the chief target.

It was in preparation for such an attack that the Cabinet War Rooms had been put together in the first place. It is no surprise then that it hosted the majority of War Cabinets and almost all Defence Committee meetings during October and November.

Churchill also made use of the site's broadcasting equipment to speak to the nation, and he spent the night in his underground bedroom twice in September and once in October.

© IWM C 5422

20/10/2022

The Cabinet War Rooms' Map Room has been preserved to look almost exactly as it did at the end of the war. Many of the maps, charts and lists on the walls reflect Allied preoccupations in the final days of the conflict.

This table, for example, shows Allied air strength in the South-West and South Pacific at the end of April 1945, while the Map Room's calendar displays the date Tuesday 16 August 1945 - the day after the Japanese surrender and the last time the Cabinet War Rooms were used.

15/10/2022

The system used for the Cabinet War Rooms' transatlantic telephone link was codenamed 'Sigsaly'. The machinery required to make it work was installed in three large rooms below Selfridges department store in the West End (pictured).

Sigsaly could have peculiar effects on a person's voice. On one occasion, it is said that President Roosevelt couldn't help but laugh on hearing Churchill speak down the line. Apparently the bulldog British Prime Minister sounded remarkably like the cartoon character Donald Duck.

© IWM HU 45346

10/10/2022

The Cabinet War Rooms' Map Room became operational on 27 August 1939. News that Hi**er had invaded Poland arrived on 1 September. Two days later, Britain was at war.

Learn more of the history of Churchill War Rooms and plan your visit today: https://bit.ly/3yoEHPF

© IWM HU 5517

09/10/2022

We’re recruiting for Front of House ‘Discover’ volunteers at all of our branches.

Whether you’re a regular visitor or new to IWM, a history expert or an enthusiastic beginner – this is your chance to get involved.

Find out more and apply by 17 October: https://bit.ly/3V2eGPM

08/10/2022

Churchill enjoyed the finest ci**rs - but made time to acknowledge the gift of something humbler.

US telecommunications engineer Stephen Geis helped to set up the transatlantic telephone line in the Cabinet War Rooms. He remembers the first time it was used:

'Anticipating the possibility that the Prime Minister was going to use the system, I decided to stop... and purchase the best cigar I could... sure enough the Prime Minister, dressed in his boiler suit, came in...

He said "Oh, you may stay if you wish." and I said " No, I don't think I'd better Mr Churchill but if you would accept a cigar from me I would be very happy." And he said "Well, I certainly will."

Several days later I received... a copy of Mr Churchill's book 'My Early Life'. Inside was a card from No. 10 Downing Street... and on the fly-leaf there was a signature... from Winston Churchill, May 1944.

I counted it to be the thrill of my military experience.'

06/10/2022

'It is better to be making the news than taking it; to be an actor rather than a critic.' - A young Winston Churchill writing in 1898.

This photograph shows Churchill in 1900, aged 25.

© IWM Q 113382

03/10/2022

The overnight accommodation for staff at the War Rooms - a subbasement known unaffectionately as 'the dock' - had no flushing toilets.

Instead, foul-smelling chemical toilets like this one had to be used. The nearest proper facilities were two floors higher up.

28/09/2022

Over the summer, we have been busy transforming five key areas at Churchill War Rooms to delve deeper into the fascinating history of this secret Second World War underground nerve centre.

We have brought together images, footage and oral histories from the IWM archive to explain and explore the historical significance of the site and the people that worked here.

Central to this redevelopment is the Chiefs of Staff Conference Room where a new film projection and narration transports visitors back to the tense summer of 1944, when a special meeting was held to discuss reprisals for German V-1 flying bomb attacks.

Discover these transformed historic spaces and untold personal stories on your next visit to Churchill War Rooms.

Find out more and book now: https://bit.ly/3R80tgY

25/09/2022

The decision to create a suite of underground rooms for the Churchills was prompted when a bomb destroyed the kitchen at 10 Downing Street on 14 October 1940. Just moments before the blast, Churchill had been standing in the kitchen persuading his chef, Georgina Landemare to take shelter in the building's basement.

Mrs Landemare duly survived the blast and would go on to make use of this new kitchen in the Cabinet War Rooms. A number of the pots, pans and utensils in the kitchen were given to IWM by the granddaughter of Mrs Landemare. Churchill's cook had been allowed to keep them when she retired from their service in 1954 at the age of 72.

24/09/2022

An enormous convoy map dominates one end of the Cabinet War Rooms' Map Room. Viewed from a distance, it is still possible to see the cloud left behind by tens of thousands of tiny pinholes.

Each time a pin was placed in the waters of the North Atlantic or Mediterranean it represented the position of a convoy running the gauntlet of German and Italian submarines to deliver vital supplies to Britain, its allies and fighting forces.

Sometimes the map would denote progress, but all too often it indicated that a ship had been sunk.

23/09/2022

'You do your worst, and we will do our best.' - Churchill voicing the response that Londoners would like to give to Hi**er, 14 July 1941.

In this photograph, almost 4 years later to the day, Churchill sits on one of the damaged chairs from Hi**er's bunker in Berlin following Germany's surrender, 16 July 1945.

© IWM BU 8961

21/09/2022

As Senior Assistant Secretary to the War Cabinet, Lieutenant General Sir Leslie Hollis was privy to all kinds of top secret information. Keeping it secret could be difficult and frustrating, as he explains in this extract from his memoirs:

'Outside the office, one was reluctant to talk about the war to anyone, however prominent or well-known. I remember travelling to my home in Sussex to see for a few hours my wife when she was ill.

In the train there was one other civilian gentleman in the compartment. I was in uniform and the civilian started a conversation about the course of the war. His questions were very much to the point and I knew most of the answers, but in every case I pleaded complete ignorance.

As I got off the train he have me a withering look of contempt, as much to say: "No wonder we are doing so badly when such flannelled fools are allowed to hold the King's Commission!"'

© IWM HU 103536

21/09/2022

Don't miss out on the historic adventure Operation Black Door. 22, 23 and 24 September 2022. Pre-booking is essential. Book your tickets here: https://bit.ly/3qPSEBZ

A genuine Second World War bunker where history was made, Churchill War Rooms will be your stage for an evening of mystery solving, code-cracking and drama.

Will you play your part?

20/09/2022

In September 1944, Winston Churchill visited Canada for the Second Quebec Conference, where among other topics, British and American governments were to consider strategic plans for Germany's final defeat.

In this photo, the Prime Minister greets President Roosevelt in the sunshine at a small station at Wolfe's Cove, Quebec. Both arriving by separate special trains, Roosevelt has been waiting in his open-topped car for Churchill to arrive.

© IWM H 40057