Undercover: Life in Churchill’s Bunker

‘Enjoy is not really the word. One was completely inspired when working with him, and one felt that one was in the centre of everything and exceedingly privileged to be there. I was not the only one, but I’m speaking now as a person; I personally would have done anything I could for him. That mustn’t be misunderstood; Mr Churchill was someone who drew our complete respect, as I’ve said.’
- Elizabeth Layton, Churchill’s personal private secretary, describes how she felt working for him

Find out what it was really like in the Cabinet War Rooms during the war. Hear about the conditions underground, the camaraderie, the secrecy, the fear of attack, and the experience of working in close proximity to Churchill.

Undercover: Life in Churchill’s Bunker uses oral histories, film interviews and personal objects to tell the stories of some of the hundreds of staff who worked in the secret headquarters.

Discover the story of George Rance, a former Army Sergeant working for Office of Works, who became responsible for adding extra equipment onto open orders for other government departments in 1938, thus allowing the War Rooms to be furnished in secret. After war broke out, he stayed on as civilian ‘custodian’ of the site.

RAF Officer William Dickson was on duty in the Map Room on the day war was declared – he describes what happened underground in the run-up to Churchill’s speech. And Ilene Hutchinson, a shorthand typist, accompanied Churchill to the Yalta Conference in February 1945. You can also hear about her experience of VE Day when she climbed onto the roof of the building with her colleagues to watch the crowds.