Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms

Europe in the 1920s and 30s was a troubled and volatile place. It was still reeling from the shocking and then-unprecedented destruction of World War One; Nazism was on the rise; Undefended cities were being heavily bombarded for the first time.

Against this background, the powers that be within Britain were troubled by the possibility of such enemy air raids on London, and how to ensure government and the military could continue to effectively manage and prosecute a wartime response.

Thus, in 1938 the cabinet War Rooms were created. Located on the edge of St. James Park in the basement of the Office of Public Works (now the Treasury Building), they became fully operational in 1939 with the outbreak of World War Two.

The facility provided the vital ability to maintain effective command and control of the war effort. The Map Room was the hub of daily activities - large scale maps of Britain, Europe and the Far Eastern theatres of war were pasted to the walls; troop movements and battle plans were detailed and perfected from the strategic level.

After VJ day, the Map Room was left almost exactly as it was when its doors were closed for the final time. The scene that awaits visitors to the Cabinet War Rooms today is that which was left in August 1945, down to placement of each book and map pin.

Such was the importance Churchill attached to the Map Room, his own room is to be found immediately next to it, with an adjoining door. Here Churchill had his bed, together with a desk and meeting area.

Further down the corridor is the Cabinet Room, where Churchill often held meetings into the small hours with key advisors, selected cabinet members and chiefs of staff.

The War Rooms were significantly expanded during the early forties, adding many more rooms and facilities, not least the Transatlantic Telephone room where a securely encrypted hot line phone to the American President was to be found. The Chiefs of Staff Conference room was added in 1941 as part of what is now known as the Churchill Suite. This gave the heads of the armed forces a place to meet, confer, monitor and plan the execution of the war effort.

Over the course of the war the Cabinet War Rooms tripled in size before the lights were turned off and the doors finally closed in August 1945, following the announcement of victory in the Far East.

The War rooms were preserved due to Parliament declaring them a site of National Significance in 1948. Nearly forty years later, in 1984, areas of the Cabinet War Rooms were opened to the public by the Imperial War Museum. Sixteen years later, permission was granted for the whole site to be opened and with it an extensive restoration programme was begun. The first phase was completed in 2003 with the central focus being the 'Churchill Suite'.

Phase Two saw the completion of the Churchill Museum. It was opened by HRH Queen Elizabeth II in February 2005, in the fortieth anniversary year of Churchill's death. This is an integral part of the Cabinet War rooms and is the first major museum dedicated to Churchill's life.