I don’t think you can say he was personally responsible for [the War Rooms] being created. Other people were thinking along the same lines, but he lead the pressure … to make sure it happened,” says Asbury.

During the height of the Blitz, Churchill often held meetings at unusual times of the day and night; sometimes, they would carry on long after midnight (to the private fury of some of his staff who, unlike him, had not had the benefit of an afternoon nap). But unconventional though he was as a war leader, Churchill understood the importance of maintaining morale, and from Room 60 he delivered several BBC broadcasts to the British nation, its empire and commonwealth, the US and occupied Europe. The second and last War Cabinet meeting took place in 1941, where a review of the Australian war effort was presented by the Australian premier Robert Menzies. Churchill was not in attendance due to a bronchial cold, so instead the meeting was chaired by Clement Atlee, the Lord Privy Seal.

Churchill’s Secret Bunker today

When war was declared in 1939, Down Street was converted in a matter of days into the new headquarters of the Railway Executive Committee. The REC acted as an intermediary between the War Office and Britain’s rail companies and would be crucial to the movement of troops, horses and equipment in the fight ahead. Work began in the summer of 1938 to turn some basement storage rooms far under the Treasury into what was then called the Central War Room, which comprised at first little more than a map room and a meeting area. It was particularly convenient for MPs since it was situated almost halfway between No 10 and the Houses of Parliament. During the Munich crisis of September 1938, the rooms were kept fully staffed in case war broke out, but they did not become fully operational until a week before the war started the following year. What had only really started out as a "temporary" expedient until some custom-built bunker was created elsewhere wound up servicing Britain's senior strategists for the next six years.

CNN Travel got a preview of the experience, ahead of a new batch of London Transport Museum’s Hidden London tours going on sale on December 3. However, after seven years of disuse, explains Holloway, “All of the things that made it not viable as a station made it absolutely perfect for secret bunkers during the Second World War.”In the event of invasion, auxiliary soldiers had an estimated life expectancy of just 10 to 14 days—in part, perhaps, because the bunkers were not as hidden as their inhabitants would have liked. On several occasions, courting couples strolling through the woods stumbled upon the men’s hideouts, forcing them to relocate.

The origins of the Cabinet War Rooms lie in the growing realisation by the war planners of the 1930s that aerial bombardment would play a vital role in any future conflict. The civilian casualties suffered during the Spanish Civil War from the ravages of German and Italian bombers convinced British governments of the necessity of protecting the population of London. If the high command was also to be protected, a bunker deep underground needed to be constructed as soon as possible. But while anyone can tour the War Rooms for themselves today, what they can’t do is go behind the glass to see the artifacts in the detail that Asbury shares in his book. With nearly two dozen history books to his credit, Holmes has no trouble delivering an opinionated, thoroughly entertaining account that follows the hyperactive Churchill, his family, servants, staff, advisors, cabinet and generals as they troop in and out of the bunker, various London command centers, country estates and world capitals while fighting World War II. a b Hansard, 8 March 1948; 'War Cabinet Rooms HC Deb 8 March 1948 vol 448 c115W' Hansard 1803-2005. Accessed 20 January 2010.Now, the opportunity has come round again to slip behind the door of the abandoned Down Street Tube station and descend by torchlight into the World War II hideaway from which campaigns such as the D-Day landings and the Dunkirk evacuation were coordinated. Their maintenance became the responsibility of the Ministry of Works. [32] In March 1948 the question of public access to the War Rooms was raised in Parliament and the Minister responsible, Charles Key MP, considered that 'it would not be practicable to throw open for inspection by the general public accommodation which forms part of an office where confidential work is carried on'. [32] Even so, a tour was organised for journalists on 17 March, with members of the press being welcomed by Lord Ismay and shown around the Rooms by their custodian, Mr. George Rance. [33] Imperial War Museum (11 May 2010). "Churchill War Rooms – May Half-term 2010: Press Release" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2010 . Retrieved 22 September 2010. Within a month, crews had cleared, reinforced, soundproofed and installed communications in several of what became the Cabinet War Rooms. By the war’s outbreak, dozens of rooms were functional, fitted with air conditioning, independent water and lighting, medical facilities and sleeping quarters. The Office of Works considered the arrangements temporary, and the budget for expansion was tight. Inhabitants paid the price. The rooms were chilly, damp and poorly ventilated. In an era when almost everyone smoked, tobacco fumes mingled with cooking odors and smells from the primitive toilets.

When Churchill first entered the political sphere in 1900, he had rapidly ascended the ranks of the British government. In the decades leading up to his time as prime minister, he had been appointed the president of Board of Trade, colonial secretary, first lord of the Admiralty, minister of munitions, war, and air, and chancellor of the exchequer. But the “British Bulldog” also sustained heavy political blows, some self-imposed, others at the hands of his rivals. By the 1930s, the public had soured on Churchill, especially his refusal to weaken Britain’s colonial grip on the Indian empire. They saw Churchill as equally out-of-touch as he railed against what he viewed as the rising German threat.

Possible answer:

Rose, Steve (1 June 2012). "Constructive criticism: the week in architecture". The Guardian . Retrieved 19 June 2012. Construction of the Cabinet War Rooms, located beneath the Treasury building in the Whitehall area of Westminster, began in 1938. They became fully operational on 27 August 1939, a week before Britain declared war on Germany. The War Rooms remained in operation throughout the Second World War, before being abandoned in August 1945 after the surrender of Japan. a b Hansard 6 December 1978; 'War Room, Storey’s Gate HC Deb 6 December 1978 vol 959 cc681-2W' Hansard 1803-2005. Accessed 18 March 2009.