London - Churchill War Rooms

Steven watches as the war is plotted on Oct 15, 1940.

"This is the room from which I will direct the war."  - Winston Churchill

Just weeks before Britain entered WWII, the basement of the current treasury building, just across from St. James' park,  was outfitted with office furniture and hundreds of phones.  A small galley kitchen and bedrooms were added later.  This became the command center for Churchill just months after he became Britain's prime minister.  The public can now view all these rooms, recreated as they existed on October 15, 1940 at 4:58 p.m.  (Yes, all the clocks are set to that exact time.)

Politely rationing electricity

We viewed the rooms on an uncrowded Friday afternoon, audio tour guides pressed to our ears.  You do feel transported to that time.  Everything, except the mannequins, feels as if the war workday is in progress.  The Officer of Work's original keys still dangle from a wall; pins representing troop movement or bombs are still pinned to the maps.  Walls have been removed and replaced with glass fronts so you can be a fly on the wall to the action.  Everything is very thoroughly signed to keep the order, sometimes even politely (Notice: Turn off that Switch Please:-" and "Persons entering this Door are notified that Marine Sentries have Order to examine ALL PASSES," and so on.)  My favorite sign reads "Fine and Warm." That's meant to report the weather, though not necessarily accurately.
    

When a heavy air raid was in progress, the sign was changed to "Windy." 

Included as part of the war rooms is the Churchill museum.  Think U.S. presidential library, but with a lot more humor, and a lot more medals. You can view some of Churchill's  landscape paintings here too, and the book he wrote about painting as a hobby.  He didn't just save the free world; he was also a pretty decent painter.  You'll exit by the gift shop, where you can pick up a chocolate truffle disguised as a stogie.