London, England – Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms

If you ever find yourself in London and are in search of some great history, be sure to check out the War Room. The War Room once covered 1.2ha (3 acres)and housed more than 500 staff . Today you can visit only a small portion but it still creates a fascinating insight into the Churchill war years covering 1939 to 1945.

The rooms were constructed with steel reinforcements in 1938 during the lead-up to World Was II, in the basement of what is now the Treasury building. Two rooms in particular, the map Room (still as it looked when it was closed down on 16 August, 1945, the day after VJ day), and the Cabinet Room, became the hub of military operations. When Winston Churchill saw the Cabinet Room, he declared: “This is the room from which I will direct the war”.

Churchill would call meetings of his chief ministers and military strategists at all hours. Despite this, he rarely slept in the bedrooms, also open to view, that doubled as his office. An elaborate telephone scramble system that gave him a “hotline” to President Roosevelt in the White House was concealed in the lavatory.

A combined ticket also gives access to the Churchill Museum, which uses original and facsimile documents and interactive displays to tell the story of the public and private face of the man. These two locations offer a rich indepth look into where discreet military operations took place back during World War II.

For more information about other great London, England tourist attractions visit www.GuidedTourLondon.com.