What interested me with the Darkest Hour was what came after Churchill became Prime Minister. Some of the film showed the major decisions of the war being managed from an underground bunker in Whitehall. The film depicted heated discussions and war strategising taking place in small rooms that were the centre of Britain’s war decision making and a communications hub. I was interested in how the war was managed like this. It was only by chance during some mindless web scrolling that I found out that those wartime offices still exist and are open to the public. They are managed by the Imperial War Museum. That’s how I found myself queuing outside an unassuming door in Whitehall on a very cold January morning. If it hadn’t had a small sign indicating it was Churchill War Rooms I would have just assumed it was the front entrance to a small coffee shop. At 10:00 the doors opened and I entered a labyrinth of rooms that would provide a remarkable insight into how Britain escaped Hitler’s fascism. 

Location, Location, Location

I thought the War Rooms would be a good distance underground to avoid the potential of damage from bombing raids. I was therefore surprised that I didn’t seem to go down much at all from ground level. Britain had sleep-walked its way into war and didn’t have a specifically designed war bunker or indeed, any idea how a war should actually be managed. It wasn’t until the 16th of March 1939 that a government department was given the responsibility of finding a suitable place to house the War Rooms and it wasn’t until 4 days before the start of war that it actually became operational. The site at Whitehall was chosen for convenience, rather than by design. It was close to Downing Street, Parliament and the civil service. Leading up to the outbreak of war, the rooms were strengthened, sand-bagged and protected against gas attack. The switchboard operators had specially adapted gas masks so that they could continue their work under a gas attack. The rooms were also below the level of the River Thames and so flood doors were fitted and pumps installed. In 1940 Churchill ordered improved protection for the War Rooms which included strengthening with concrete. A modern map shows where bombs landed around the War Rooms and Downing Street throughout the war. Some landed quite close (19 by my count), but there was never a direct hit, which was very, very fortunate. 400m away, the Commons Chamber was gutted by fire. 

The museum greeters gave me some headphones attached to a small digital tablet. Throughout my tour I could use this  little tablet to dial into brief podcasts about the rooms I was visiting. This turned out to be very informative and added greatly to the experience of touring the War Rooms. It was like having your own personal guide. 

Size Doesn't Matter

There were two main things that struck me about the War Rooms.
Firstly, every room looked as though it was already prepared to start the next day of business. The places seemed to have been deserted just like the Marie Celeste. It wouldn’t have surprised me to find a kettle boiling in the kitchen or somebody in army fatigues walking along the corridor. There were even a few cubes of sugar left on an Officer’s desk. Every map and every graph pinned to the wall looked as though it had just been updated. Dressed mannequins had been placed in some of the rooms to give a further impression of what it was like. Each room was separated off from the museum visitors by a pane of glass. Even so, wandering the corridors really did feel like reliving history. The rooms looked very functional; there seemed to have been no attempt to make it a nice environment in which to work. I guess that’s what happens during wars though; there’s no time for niceties.
Secondly, the total floor area of the War Rooms and the size of the rooms were surprisingly small. It seemed inconceivable that you could conduct a war with so little physical organisational space. The ground floor space of my house seemed larger than the Map Room (a key area). Most of the rooms ran off one long main corridor. The museum had repurposed a large area as a museum dedicated to Churchill (more of which later).  Although it wasn’t on view to the museum visitors, beneath the War Cabinet Rooms lies another floor that stretched the full length of the building above. Its ceiling was very low, with doorways no more than four feet high. This space was known as the ‘Dock’ and  used as a  dormitory for about 24 people. They obviously made good use of every bit of space available to them. 

War Cabinet Room

Near to the museum’s entrance  was the War Cabinet Room. This was where the Prime Minister conducted meetings with his War Cabinet. It was remarkable how sparsely it was furnished. Most of the room was occupied by 5 rectangular tables arranged into a square. There were 14 seats around the perimeter of the arrangement and 3 people sat inside the gap left in the middle. There was barely enough space in the room for people to move around the perimeter of the tables. A map of the world hung on the wall behind Churchill’s seat. Ashtrays were scattered about the tables. The ‘air conditioning’ was notoriously poor in the War Rooms, with workers saying that it just recirculated the stale air. I could see just one telephone. As a meeting room, you couldn’t really get anything more basic. When a meeting took place, the door was locked and a sentry posted outside. 

The Rooms

The widest sections of the main corridor were used by typists. The corridors also contained large storage chests holding the maps used by the Officers in the Map Room. Gun racks were placed in the corridors and rooms. There was always the threat throughout the war that Hitler may mount a paratrooper attack against the seat of power. 

One small room had what looked like a lavatory lock on the door. People speculated that Churchill had been given the luxury of a private flushing toilet. It contained in fact a secure radio-telephone link between the Prime Minister and the  President of the USA. The signal was encrypted. 

The BBC had their own tiny room that was stacked with broadcasting equipment. A cable ran to Churchill’s bedroom and it was from there that he broadcast four major speeches to the nation. 

A telephone exchange was next door to the BBC room. This had to be expanded as communications demand grew. 

Next door to the switchboard, up to 11 typists worked on silent typewriters writing up reports and minutes. Churchill had these 'noiseless' typewriters  imported from the United States, since he hated their noise. Apparently Churchill hated all noise distractions, especially whistling. 

In 1941 the War Rooms were expanded to include a bedroom for Churchill’s wife, a kitchen and dining room for the couple's private use, office bedrooms for the Prime Minister’s private staff and a meeting room for the Chiefs of Staff. Most of the private rooms were rarely used because they only became available after the heaviest bombing raids of the Blitz had come to an end. The Chiefs of Staff meeting room was regularly used though. 

Hastings Ismay had his own room. He was Chief of Staff to Churchill and was a key man in the operations of the War Rooms. He provided the link between Churchill and the heads of the three armed services. There was also a  room for his two Private Secretaries. 

Sir Edward Bridges had his own room. He was the most senior civil servant. Whenever the Cabinet made decisions on political or civil matters, it was Bridges' job to set the civil service machine in motion to take action. He also had a room for his two Private Secretaries. 

A room was allocated to the Commander in Chief, General Sir Alan Brooke, and a couple of rooms for his staff. By 1941 the immediate threat of invasion had passed allowing Brooke and his staff to move out. His rooms were taken over by the Camp Commandant who was responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of the Cabinet War Rooms. He was in charge of every key in the complex. Brooke has been quoted as saying about the Cabinet War Rooms: ‘It was in every way an excellent battle headquarters, with only one fault, namely its proximity to Winston!’ 

The Map Room was the nerve centre of the whole organisation. It received intelligence from everything going on in the war and transferred that information into maps, graphs and reports. The room contained 5 officers represented by:  the army , navy,  air force, an official from the Ministry of Home Security, and a fifth one from each of the services in turn acting as Duty Officer. Their phones were colour coded: white phones - war rooms of the three armed services, green - intelligence sources, black - outside world via the telephone exchange. The information that the officers received would be given to Plotters who would make changes to the maps using colour coded pins, threads and miniature flags. The Map Room would also provide a daily report to the Prime Minister, Chiefs of Staff and the King. They also provided information to the Joint Planners who assessed the military situation and prepared reports on potential further military action. The current maps on the wall today reflect the status of the war in its final days. 

Churchill had his own bedroom, but he didn’t make much use of it. He did use it though for his afternoon hour long nap.  It is thought that he only spent 3 nights sleeping in the War Rooms during the war. He used the room as an office and when he visited the Map Room which was next door. He preferred to work and sleep at 10 Downing Street. He also had the use of private rooms above the Cabinet War Rooms. 

There were no flushing toilets in the Cabinet War Rooms. Staff would climb to ground floor level or use a chemical toilet. 

Even Churchill’s bodyguard had his own little room. 

Churchill Museum

A large area was dedicated to the Churchill Museum. This charted Churchill's life from childhood, through his political life and onwards to his time as war leader. It also included details of his pre-war ‘wilderness years’ and his final political days. The museum had some interesting and innovative displays that really brought Churchill  to life. There were many interesting artefacts including: his baby rattle,  examples of his oil paintings and inevitably a  cigar. The museum was split into the various eras of his life. 

I was interested to see his childhood collection of soldiers. His father wrote that it was the sight of him playing with the soldiers  that persuaded him that an army career would suit him.  His ivory and gold rattle was on display. I’m not sure I had one of those; I believe mine was plastic. There’s an entry from the Harrow school punishment book that shows Winston received 7 strokes of the cane for ‘breaking into premises and doing damage.’ 

Secured against a wall is the original oak  door to 10 Downing Street that Churchill walked through as Prime Minister in May 1940. The door was replaced in 1991 with a blast-proof door after the IRA mortar attack on Downing Street. 

There were a few Churchill trinkets on display; I particularly liked the Churchill tank teapot. 

A hearing aid worn by Churchill was an exhibit. Conservative MP ‘Chips’ Channon wrote that Churchill was not always as deaf as he seemed: ‘He has a trick of pretending to be deafer than he is when he wants to shed a bore…’ 

Churchill’s Webley-Wilkinson revolver was on display. He bought this in 1893 and carried it throughout his early military career. There was also his Colt Model 1911 automatic pistol that he used during his service on the Western Front. There was also a Sten gun that was presented to Churchill by the toymakers  Lines Brothers. It seems that even toymakers switched to manufacturing weapons during the war. 

Half a dozen different hat styles showed that Winston had a hat for every occasion, whether it be military or civil. 

The post war election defeat was said to have hurt Churchill deeply. He is quoted as saying: “By noon it was clear that the socialists would have a majority. My wife said to me, ‘It may be a blessing in disguise.’ I replied, ‘At the moment it seems quite effectively disguised.’” 

Wandering around the displays in the museum, I found it hard to think of anybody else who has had a more varied and full life. He died of a stroke on the 10th of January 1965. He had a state funeral. The ceremony was at St Pauls Cathedral and then he was buried at a family plot at St Martin’s Church, Bladon. 

Reflections

The tour around Churchill’s War Rooms had been enlightening. The setup was much more basic than I was expecting. It obviously functioned well though. The museum tour of the rooms was well designed and it was interesting to get so close to some of the maps and reports. I found the headphone guide very useful and added greatly to the experience. 

The Churchill Museum was also excellent. It provided a thorough account of all stages of Churchill’s life with engaging media formats and exhibits. I spent half a day visiting the rooms and museum and probably would have spent longer if I hadn’t needed to get to the Natural History Museum in the afternoon.