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The Churchill War Rooms

London, United Kingdom

Churchill War Rooms London Churchill's Bedroom

Winston Churchill’s bedroom and office.

England // London UK· military· museums & galleries Location: [post_gps_latitude], [post_gps_longitude]

This was British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s underground command bunker during some of the dangerous days of the Blitz. With V2 rockets terrorizing London nightly, a small number of government and military officials, with a skeleton support staff, and, for meetings, the Cabinet, continued coordinating the war effort from the relative safety below the Treasure building in Whitehall in central London.

It was carved out former storage facilities, and it shows–it’s cramped, dark, and would have been a generally uncomfortable place to live and work. But it was better than the alternative.

Remarkably, though, the bunker wasn’t built in response to the Blitz–or rather, it was built in response to the prospect of the Blitz. Presciently, planning and construction was started in 1938, a year before war broke out, because it was clear that London was vulnerable to modern bombers. They realized that if war did break out, which was appearing increasingly likely as Hitler became bolder in Europe, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet would need somewhere relatively safe and convenient from where they could meet and coordinate the war effort.1

The bunker was underground, but it wasn’t buried very deep. Like the command center established under the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia to house the US Congress in the event of nuclear war, the protection for Churchill’s war bunker came through secrecy, not from sheer strength. These bunkers were not impregnable to a direct hit from bombs above. It wasn’t until relatively late that an effort was made to insert layers of reinforced thick concrete and steel between the ceiling and the street above. That effort was only partially complete by the time the war was over.

Before you go, I highly recommend watching The Darkest Hour.

The bunker is surprisingly small and compact. Aside from being subterranean, it’s not much like the rabbit-warren-like Cu Chi tunnels near Ho Chi Minh City or the Pathet Lao caves in northeast Laos, but it’s also not the kind of expansive, technology-rich command center you might expect of the British Government. Paper maps and telephones are about the extent of the technology down here. Even Churchill’s bedroom was spartan and functional, the walls plastered with maps showing the war’s progress. The one small concession to propriety was a small dining room, big enough for a table with four chairs.

It was down here that Churchill and key personnel from the high command spend a considerable amount of time during the war, sleeping and working and delivering speeches for nation-wide broadcast even as bombs rained down above. The weren’t exactly safe or oblivious, but they were able to continue the war effort.

Photos of the Churchill War Rooms

Churchill War Rooms London Updating Map

Map Room.

Churchill War Rooms London Advanced Headquarters of the GHQ, Home Forces

Room 62, the Advanced Headquarters of the GHQ, Home Forces.

Churchill War Rooms London Keep Shut

Churchill War Rooms London War Cabinet Room

The main Cabinet War Room.

Churchill War Rooms London Map Room

Churchill War Rooms London Sign

Churchill War Rooms London Churchill's Bedroom

Churchill War Rooms London Chief of Staff Conference Room

The Chiefs of Staff Conference Room.

Churchill War Rooms London Map Key

A key showing which colored pins mean what on the large wall maps in the Map Room.

Churchill War Rooms London Map Room

Churchill War Rooms London Emergency Exit

Churchill War Rooms London Director of Plans

Rows of telephones at the desk of the Director of Plans, Admiralty.

Churchill War Rooms London 10 Downing Street

An old door of the Prime Minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street.

Churchill War Rooms London Churchill Museum Exhibit

Churchill War Rooms London Instructions

A sign on the wall detailing how to escape if bomb debris is blocking the door.

Churchill War Rooms London Czechoslovakia Map

Churchill War Rooms London Radio Operator

Churchill War Rooms London General Sir Hastings Ismay

General Sir Hastings Ismay’s Office in Room 61 Right.

Churchill War Rooms London Private

Churchill War Rooms London Map Pins

Colored pins used in the many maps.

Churchill War Rooms London Aide de Camp Living Quarters

The bedroom and living quarters of Commander ‘Tommy’ Thompson, the Prime Minister’s Aide de Camp.

Churchill War Rooms London Nazi Germany Exhibit

Churchill War Rooms London Black Telephone

Churchill War Rooms London Typing Pool

Churchill War Rooms London Corridor

Churchill War Rooms London Maps

Churchill War Rooms London Keys

Churchill War Rooms London Churchill Exhibit

Churchill War Rooms London Champagne Exhibit

Churchill War Rooms London Emergency Office Quarters

Churchill War Rooms London Desk

Churchill War Rooms London Telephone Switchboard

Churchill War Rooms London Kitchen

The kitchen.

Churchill War Rooms London Map Drawers

Churchill War Rooms London Emergency Water Supply

What to Know Before You Go

As you’d expect, it’s quite small and cramped inside, with narrow corridors.

There’s a small cafe inside the old switchroom.


  1. Imperial War Museums, Churchill War Rooms: Guidebook (London: Imperial War Museum, 2012). ↩

Where to Next?

  • Photo of Cu Chi Tunnels Tourists in Tunnel Hole
    Cu Chi Tunnels
  • Photo of Shells on display at War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
    Vietnam's War Remnants Museum
  • Vietnam Military History Museum Tank Exhibit
    Hanoi's Vietnam Military History Museum
  • Australian War Memorial at night
    Australian War Memorial
  • Ho Chi Minh City Hall in Saigon at Night
    Ho Chi Minh City Hall
  • Vietnam Museum of Revolution Statue and Artillery
    Museum of the Vietnamese Revolution
  • Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Guards at entrance
    Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum
  • Reunification Palace Tank Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
    Ho Chi Minh City's Reunification Palace
  • Jade Emperor Pagoda Ho Chi Minh City Shrine with Incense
    Jade Emperor Pagoda

David Coleman Photography

I take photos. I travel. I write. I do it for a living. Seven continents. Dozens of countries. Up mountains. Under water. And a bunch of places in between. You can find my main site at havecamerawilltravel.com. Or check out what’s in my go-to travel photography kit. Or get in touch here.


Location: Churchill War Rooms
Country: England
Coordinates:
      Latitude: 51.502083
      Longitude: -0.129028

      # London UK
      # military
      # museums & galleries



About David Coleman

I take photos. I travel. I write. I do it for a living.

I’m based in Washington, DC.

You can find my photography gear reviews and tips at havecamerawilltravel.com/photographer.

David Coleman Photography

I take photos. I travel. I write. I do it for a living. Seven continents. Dozens of countries. Up mountains. Under water. And a bunch of places in between. You can find my main site at havecamerawilltravel.com. Or check out what’s in my go-to travel photography kit. Or get in touch here.

Licensing & Prints

Looking for travel stock photos or prints? I might be able to help. You can search my collection here:

If you already have a buyer account with Alamy and would prefer to use that, you can search my images directly here.

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