The Churchill War Rooms in London England
If you are new, thanks for dropping by. To my subscribers, I’m sure a lot of you guys watched my four-part series about the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana. Well, if you want to learn about the Second World War when visiting London, England, I recommend the Church of War Rooms at the Imperial War Museum. To get to the Church of War Rooms at the Imperial War Museum, take the London Underground Circle District or Jubilee lines to Westminster. From there, it’s a five-minute walk to the entrance. The walking route will also take you past the Houses of Parliament where you’ll find Big Ben. Upon entering, you will find iPads and headphones. If you want to listen to the audio guide, you can easily purchase tickets from the Get Your Guide website, which sells tickets to this location for around $63. The best time to visit the Churchill war rooms is in the afternoon after 400 p.m. for better availability and shorter weights. With those basic necessities covered, it’s time for history. The Churchill War Rooms are an underground chamber where the British government worked to fight the Axis powers during World War II. Keep in mind that every single thing here was top secret, they did not want any of the Axis powers knowing about their plans. It was so top secret that Royal Marine Guard stood outside meeting rooms where the Allied leadership met. down there. The people who worked in the war rooms used these low, narrow corridors as sleeping quarters. While unpleasant, it was safer than the level we are standing on. When visiting, most of the Churchill war rooms feel like traveling back in time, except for the connecting museum that is all about Winston Churchill himself. What we see here is for Churchill’s private secretary, while Churchill’s own bedroom is to the left of this room. During World War II, the Allies fighting in the European theater were based here in London. Besides Britain, other allied powers like the United States, France, Australia, New Zealand, and other members of the British Empire worked here to defeat the Axis powers. Only a small number of staff were allowed into the mapping room, which is where they tracked the movement of troops. Some of these rooms we’re passing now will have better views later in the tour. Here’s a fun game on the audio guide where you have to puzzle the wires to give Britain a functional hotline to the United States. Although the US did not enter the war before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, they stayed in contact with their allies and supplied them. However, Adolf Hitler later found out that the US was supplying Britain and he ordered German submarines to sink Allied ships in the Atlantic. Here is another area that has lots of information about the war rooms. This room is where Winston Churchill would talk to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the phone. FDR wanted to keep the US out of World War II, but supplied Britain with supplies and gave them 50 of their naval destroyers. Life in the Churchill war rooms was rough and uncomfortable. Staff worked long shifts to support the war effort because war isn’t over until someone surrenders. Once Japan surrendered, the war rooms were left abandoned. They weren’t restored until the 1980s and opened to the public in 1984. They had further restoration and reopened in 2003. Now it’s one of the many historic places in London that tourists can visit. Here we have some pictures of the war rooms. The reason the Churchill war rooms were built underground was so they can avoid the Blitz Creek from the Nazis. [Music] They also have videos from people who worked here who talk about what it was like during these times. This can I took a picture of is actually a toilet. In this direction, you will find the museum that talks about Winston Churchill in his rise to power. Doors even had shades that cover the windows to keep top secret things private. There is a map that shows where everything is in this separate museum. What we see here is TV footage of Winston Churchill in his rise to power. Over here we see some World War II pictures, including a picture of Adolf Hitler in front of the Eiffel Tower after Germany invaded France and took control of Paris. One fun thing here is that you can take an egg, put it on the scanner, and it will describe the answers. You can also find some of Churchill’s iconic staples like his cigar in his hat. Also included in the war rooms is Winston Churchill’s story. Let’s take a quick detour to this section. Winston Churchill was born in November 1874 at Blenham Palace. [Music] He became a calvaryary officer after graduating from the Royal Military College in 1895. In 1899, Churchill became famous after escaping captivity during the Second Anglo Bore War. [Music] In 1908, he married Clementine Hoiser. Winston Churchill was also a World War I vet. He oversaw military failures like the Gallopi campaign. He resigned from his government position to fight in the trenches on the Western Front before returning to politics. [Music] By 1930, Winston Churchill resigned from the shadow cabinet over proposed Indian self-government. Churchill did not want all of Britain’s colonies to become independent. [Music] In 1938, Churchill criticized the Munich Agreement after months of opposition to appeasement. This is where Britain and France agreed to let Germany invade the western half of Czechoslovakia, which is now the Czech Republic. In 1939, Germany invaded Poland and World War II began. Hitler broke his promise and invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. The current prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, resigned after failing to stop Hitler. And Winston Churchill took his place as Britain’s prime minister and leader of the wartime coalition government. Because the Nazis were bombing London and Britain refused to surrender, the war cabinet was moved underground, which is exactly what we are touring. The reason why Hitler ordered the German air force to turn attention from bombing the Royal Air Force bases to the bombing of London is because he was mad that Churchill ordered a bombing on Berlin, Germany. That’s how the Royal Air Force was able to get reorganized and able to defend the country. After Germany turned on the Soviet Union and invaded them, Churchill built a new relationship with Joseph Stalin, the leader of the USSR. He then met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt when signing the Atlantic Charter. Churchill later visited FDR and persuaded him to accept the British strategy to win World War II, which was around the time the US entered the war. It turns out Britain declared war on Japan the same time the US declared war on Japan because of attacks on British territories and the attack on Pearl Harbor itself. In 1943, Churchill, Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin, the big three, all met for the first time at the Pot Stamp Conference. In May of 1945, Churchill greeted huge crowds that gathered in London to celebrate the end of the war in Europe. Japan surrendered in August, thus ending World War II entirely. However, in 1945, Churchill was replaced as prime minister by Clement at after a huge election defeat, but was reelected as conservative prime minister in 1951. In 1955, he retired as prime minister because his health was declining. In January of 1965, Winston Churchill passed away in London at 90 years old. He was remembered for his leadership and is forever missed by the British people. He’s buried at Blenham Palace, which is far outside of London. These are iconic staples that he inspired on display here. The Winston Churchill section in the war rooms is the most modern part of the museum. Now, let’s get back to the war rooms. We’re going back in time to the 1940s to visit the rest of the war rooms. If you watch the movie Darkest Hour, it not only talks about Churchill and the Churchill war rooms, but also gives you a perspective of the city of London. I recommend watching that movie before visiting London. What we see in the ceiling is the slab, which is there to protect the war rooms from a direct bomb hit. We’re in the middle of one of the sleeping quarters. This is one of the many bedrooms in the war rooms. And there are a few dining places. The map rooms are down this way. What we see here is the kitchen. [Music] This room here showed footage of what was happening on the battlefields. You can get an idea of what this room was like because the specific spot lit on the table is for a specific official talking with the others on the table. The cabinet war rooms required an independent electrical supply system, part of which operated in this room. [Music] If you are interested, they have a functional cafe. If you’re hungry, what we see here is a map of London, and all the red spots are areas where German bombs landed. This shows just how close they came to the war rooms, and the houses of Parliament did sustain a little damage. The London Underground is one of the best metros in Europe, and you can take it almost anywhere in London. Civilians use several underground stations for shelter because the stations were underground. What we see here is the radio room. Even though these areas that have been restored to their 1940s conditions are pretty dark, we’re just passing through the rest of the rooms. One of them is the telephone room that Churchill used to lead Britain to victory. But um it turns out the Imperial War Museum created a tunnel in 1984 so visitors could reach the heart of the cabinet rooms easier. And here’s the map room. Troops were tracked not only in Europe or Northern Africa, but also in Southeastern Asia because Britain was fighting Japan. Here is the telephone room I talked about earlier. And the last room we’re visiting is the room where Churchill would nap. He always napped at 400 p.m. Here we are back on the surface. If you enjoyed this video, please like it, comment, subscribe, and we’ll see you again. London is historic and dynamic, and the Churchill War Rooms are a place to see if you like history. Thanks for watching.
Today, we are touring one of the most historical places to visit when you are in the City of London: the Churchill War Rooms. The Churchill War Rooms are where the British government and Allied leadership worked to fight the Axis Powers during World War II. We will also be checking out the connecting museum of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who led Britain during the war. Hope you enjoy! #tourism #travel #europe #london #winstonchurchill #ww2 #britain #londontravelvlog #londontravel