There's been many engaging speeches made by the world's power-brokers and influential orators over the years; Some for good and some for evil agenda's, depending on what you believe or on what side of the line you may stand.
One such speech rallied a nation like few had in modern times - I refer to the speech Winston Churchill made to the House of Commons on June 4th 1940.
It was partly to reign in the national euphoria resulting from the success of the Dunkirk evacuation which returned more than 338,000 allied soldiers to England where only 45,000 would have been considered a success. It was also designed to put the United States on notice...Europe was in dire need of assistance. The war was being quickly lost.
Excerpt of that speech
...Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.
World War Two touched almost everyone on the planet in some way but it eventually came to an end through the sacrifice of many men and women who supported the war effort, and the planning and direction from people like Winston Churchill and his staff.
As an avid history-buff I love all history but have spent a lot of time studying war history in particular. Whilst in England I was keen to visit the very spot where the Allies' war in Europe was orchestrated. It wasn't just the fight for England that was at stake, it was the world, and many difficult decisions were made there. So, here we go.
It was in 1938 when this location, the basement of a Whitehall building, was selected as a shelter for the inner-sanctum of British Government - A place safe from potential harm and from where a war could be conducted should one begin. Of course that's exactly what happened as the Nazi's invaded Poland in September 1939 and then headed west to Belgium and France.
Since its inception and creation many hundreds of men and women, both civilian and military, spent thousands of hours below ground, for weeks on end, working, eating and sleeping in these rooms; The bunker complex called the...
Cabinet War Rooms (CWR)
The War Cabinet and its Secretariat, Chiefs of Staff, map-room officers, Joint-Planners, Joint-Intelligence staff, radio operators, telephonists, typists, orderlies and guards lived and worked here for the duration of the war, and of course, Winston Churchill also. There were almost 500 hundred staff at any one time here over six years from 1938 and there they endured the London bombings, The Blitz of 1940-1941 where some 41,000 tons of bombs were dropped, whilst planning the defence of Britain and the retaking of Europe.
Faith and I were fortunate enough to visit and spend a few hours well below ground, under thousands of tons of steel and concrete, learning about life down there during the war and the weighty decisions made which ultimately achieved victory in Europe.
We had purchased tickets for one of London's excellent hop on hop off bus services and arrived at Whitehall, the location of the Centre of Government of the United Kingdom, with the intention of heading to the War Rooms and then the Tower of London for the day.
[Expert tip: Buy your tickets for the War Rooms from the bus operators, you'll save a few pounds and avoid the line up for admission - It was about 100 metres long when we arrived and only so many can be admitted at once obviously. We were in within a minute or two though, much to the disgust of those in the line. Trust me, pre-buy your tickets.]
On arrival one heads downstairs deep below road level and into a subterranean world where Victory in Europe was orchestrated.
Just a note here, it is quite dim within as light is kept to a minimum for the purpose of preserving the original maps and documents that adorn the rooms. It doesn't help that flash units are not permitted - I did my best with the photos though.
As we moved about the maze-like complex we began to understand just how huge it was, even with much of it locked off to public access; It's huge. There's loads of rooms to explore, all full of things left after the war.
The rooms have been left as they were at the end of the war and it's like stepping back in time. There's maps showing troop movements, the enemy front, naval deployments and literally every aspect of the war. It was all conducted from here.
It felt somewhat oppressive I'll be honest; I suppose having that much concrete above one's head will do that. I also wondered about what would happen in a power-loss situation - Darkness of course, but they had plant rooms for that eventuality, generators, and candles; In the bombing raids over London I think this would have been one of the safest places to be. It must have been difficult to spend weeks on end down there though.
Below you can see one of the adjoining corridors. This was core-drilled through brick initially and then solid concrete, several metres of it. I also have an image taken of one of the ceiling sections where they have cut away a large hole to show the steelwork above the concrete - There's a lot of it. This image shows how strong the bunker was.
[Expert tip: Pay for the audio tour. It provides a small handset and one can press buttons corresponding with particular rooms and features to get a full understanding of what it was for and some of the stories around the events that occurred there. It is very informative and doesn't just talk about the war but also the personalities who lived and worked here; The human stories.
The engineering, infrastructure and organisation required to keep a place like this operational is immense. I mentioned power but those who worked in here needed air, water, food, waste elimination, ablution-blocks, barracks for soldiers, sleeping quarters for staff, entertainment and rest/relaxation also, these last were critical to morale in what would have been a pressure-cooker environment. All of these were catered for and managed by the appropriate people, orderlies, cooks and maintenance workers. It was a big operation.
Above you can see a Royal Navy Commander (Cdr) working on one of the maps which covered entire walls. Note the different coloured phones on the desk. Clearly communication was absolutely vital, internally, to the surface and around the globe. The items here are the same that would have occupied this room, the very ones, back in World War Two, right down to the files on the desk.
Each military arm had its own areas: Air Force, Navy and Army. Again, this room shows the very same desks, paperwork and filing systems used in the war. It was all left as is at the conclusion of the war - I think they were all just so glad it was over the last one out shut the lights off and closed the door happy to be out of it.
Below is a an Army Captain, seated, and a Lieutenant, planning an operation. Note the candle in the centre of shot - Clearly blackouts were common.
In the Cabinet War Rooms every aspect of life had to be catered for as I said above. There were kitchens, bedrooms and break-out rooms, probably called crib-rooms I guess back then. Winston Churchill had his own bedroom, as did a few other, and interestingly it was separate from his wife's - He must have wanted to focus I suppose. His wasn't much more lavish than the others, just a single-bed, table and recliner-chair.
Of course, most of the space was dedicated to board-rooms, radio and communications equipment, maps and document storage.
Below is the main war-room. This is where Churchill and his high-ranking staff made decisions on the information gathered, and plans made, elsewhere in the complex. This is exactly how it was left at the end of the war.
What's interesting here is the graffiti someone drew on the large map on the wall to the left. I zoomed in and took a picture which I have inserted over the main one. You can see the green arrow pointing to it and the inset image of the actual drawing. It's of Adolf Hitler.
No one knows who drew it of course, but I like to think that Winston Churchill drew the picture for a laugh. Probably not though, he was a serious sort of chap. Sorry that it's not a closer image, this room was all behind glass like the others. Note the candles again.
I have purposely not included images of all of the rooms as there were so many and a lot of my photos aren't the best either. You get the idea though I suppose. It's a very interesting place to visit.
It's not over at the end of the War Rooms though, there's a museum at the end, an exhibition on Churchill himself, his early life and military career; He was a fearless soldier and an exemplary officer as was expected from someone of his stature and background; He was born at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, a direct descendant of the Dukes of Marlborough. We went to Blenheim but that's for another post.
The museum section also houses many war-time items, not least of which is the Enigma machine which is a cool part of war history from World War Two.
Enigma codes were used by the Germans to send messages to battlefield commanders, units in the field and their Navy and Air Force also.
Capturing an enigma decoder was a massive step towards winning the war. It's a well known story and, although Polish Intelligence had cracked previous (earlier versions of) enigma codes a little earlier in the war, having this machine meant the Allies had prior knowledge of what might happen a little ahead of time. It didn't win the war single handed but it was an important element.
"Shit, these bastards have my code machine!"
I'm not sure if these were Adolf Hitler's actual words, but I can imagine he popped a vein when he found out the code-breaking machine was in Allied hands. It helped win the war, and saved countless lives. Here he is mid-vein-pop.
Note: I take no responsibility for the German text I quoted above - It could be completely wrong, incorrect language I mean. Sorry if it is wrong, you get the point though.
So, on that note I think it's time to end this post...An image of Hitler having an apoplectic fit is a nice positive way to end I think - A pity he didn't have a heart attack and die. I've already written more than I wanted though; 2050+ words - Sorry y'all.
I hope you haven't minded though and have enjoyed this brief history and location. Also, if you get to London at some point I hope you take the time to check out the Churchill War Rooms - Even if you're not into history it's a pretty cool place to see in real life. Who knows, maybe you and your family are still on the face of the planet today due to a decision made down here.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised.
Be well
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