Winston Churchill Museum in London
Beside the Cabinet War Rooms Near Houses of Parliament and Big Ben
May 7, 2009
The Churchill Museum features sophisticated interactive displays as well as film, photos and objects that range from Winston Churchill's christening robe to his cigars and champagne.
Cabinet War Rooms
The Churchill Museum is an extension of the Cabinet War Rooms, a top-secret fortified network of underground offices under government buildings near Whitehall which has been open to the public since 1984.
Churchill Museum Centrepiece
The centrepiece of the Churchill Museum is an electronic interactive lifeline - a 50-foot long table marked with all the years of his life from 1874 to 1965.
By touching the edge, visitors can choose dates within each year and reveal pictures, documents and text about what was happening at the time.
Winston Churchill's Life
Most of the events relate to Winston Churchill’s own life and career, but choose the day the first atomic bomb was dropped and the whole table suddenly goes dazzling white. Or choose the day the Titanic sank and everything on it suddenly blurs and swirls as if under water.
The exhibit is certainly a very clever ‘toy’ and people of all ages enjoy calling up dates.
1940 When Britain Stood Alone
The first part of the museum sets the scene by recalling 1940 when Britain stood alone against Nazi Germany.
Historic newspaper photographs, such as Hitler standing triumphantly in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, are contrasted with recordings of Winston Churchill’s rousing speeches like "We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be".
Letter to Winston Churchill from Clementine Churchill
The displays certainly leave visitors in no doubt about the crucial role that Winston Churchill played in Britain’s history, though the exhibition takes care to show that he had his faults too. Among the many personal documents on show is a letter from his wife, Clementine Churchill, which says "I have noticed a deterioration in your manners and you are not as kind as you used to be".
The exhibition covers every aspect of Winston Churchill’s life - public and private - from his birth and school days, through his early career as soldier and journalist, then as politician and Prime Minister, to his retirement and final years as author and painter.
Winston Churchill’s Home at Chartwell
The Churchill Museum includes plenty to interest children as well as adults, such as his school reports - "Conduct very bad; he is a constant trouble to everybody" - and an interactive display depicting the pond at his home at Chartwell: touch the screen and some of his sayings about his pet fish come bubbling up to the surface.
Cabinet War Rooms
During the Second World War, Churchill’s War Cabinet and service chiefs used the Cabinet War Rooms while London was being bombed. Protected by layers of concrete, the rooms still have their authentic drab wartime appearance with original furnishings and maps.
There is even a sign which showed what the weather was like outside and instructions on how to force open the entrance if it became blocked by rubble from bombing.
Winston Churchill’s Inspiring Presence
With brick walls and massive girders supporting the ceiling, thev Cabinet War Rooms must have been a very grim place to work in, even with Winston Churchill’s inspiring presence. And of course noone knew what devastation they would find outside when their shift ended and whether their home had been destroyed in the latest air-raid.
After visiting the Churchill Museum, noone will be any doubt about how lucky the world was that Britain had such a magnificent wartime leader.
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