One of the problems when you fly overnight to Europe is that you often arrive wiped out and not fit for anything but a nap.  However, thanks to the recent Daylight Savings Time switch, we determined that London was a mere 4 hours different in time. 

 “We” refers to my dear friend and travel companion Marystephanie and your faithful scribe.

So, although we worried about our planned action-packed day when we arrived, to our surprise, we powered through with just a brief break in the afternoon. 

Our first stop was the Churchill War Rooms under what was then the New Public Offices building at Westminster and Whitehall.  These rooms were the beehive of activity that powered Great Britain through the Nazi onslaught, led by the formidable Sir Winston. This was basically just the basement of the building and had to be fortified during its operation. Thankfully, the Nazis never learned its location.

Upon the signing of the treaty with Japan that ended World War II, called VJ Day, the rooms were closed, left as a time capsule.  A calendar there still shows the date as August 16, 1939, the day after VJ Day.   In the 1970’s talk began about opening the rooms to the public and in 1984 they were revealed.   Everything was left as it had been at the end of the war. In the War Room, where Winston and his War Cabinet directed the action, the chairs remain in the same place as they were.  An unsmoked cigar sits in the ashtray by Winston’s seat.  In fact, everyone had his own ashtray, so you can only imagine what the room looked and smelled like during these meetings.

Most fascinating is the Map Room, where five men and a bank of phones kept all apprised of the action around the world 24 hours a day on the huge maps on every wall. Pins with different colored heads marked naval, air, and ground attacks and enemy positions.  Countless pinholes in the map of the North Atlantic marked the progress of naval convoys. Winston spent D Day in this room, watching the progress of the Allied troops during that fateful attack.

Winston also had a bedroom here, as did his wife.  He used his mainly for his naps. He preferred to go to the roof during German air attacks. But there was also a desk in there and broadcast equipment which he used for several speeches to his nation.  In a cupboard labeled as a lavatory, he had a top-secret phone line directly to Franklin Roosevelt.  Churchill desperately needed the help of the United States, and was in constant communication with FDR, who was unable to fully engage in the war until Japan attacked our base in Pearl Harbor. 

Throughout the War Rooms there were boards that displayed the weather aboveground to those working below.  Workers would change the weather to “Windy” if there was a bombing attack occurring. 

Attached to the War Rooms is a wonderful annex dedicated to Sir Winston’s life and filled with lots of interactive displays. It is not to be missed.

Over 500 people worked in the War Rooms and kept them abuzz 24/7 during the War from 1939 to 1945. The fact that word never leaked out during this time is a testament to the extraordinary men and women who worked there.

Our first day in London had begun on a somber, inspiring note and we were only getting started.