The Spy Who Loved
Talks & screenings, Churchill War Rooms
In 1938 the Cabinet approved a plan for a basement in the 'New Public Offices' in Whitehall to be used as a Central War Rooms. The Central War Room opened on 27 August 1939, one week before war began.
The Central War Rooms provided the secret underground headquarters for the core of the British government throughout the Second World War. The War Cabinet and Chiefs of Staff would meet regularly here over the course of the next five years.
Winston Churchill came to the Cabinet War Room soon after he became Prime Minister on 10 May 1940. On visiting the Cabinet War Room he declared, ‘This is the room from which I’ll direct the war’.
The Map Room was the informational hub of the site. Everything was left exactly where it was when the lights were finally switched off on 16 August 1945 - including sugar cubes found in an envelope left by Wing Commander John Heagarty (pictured here).
On 16 August 1945, following the surrender of the Japanese Forces, the doors to the Cabinet War Rooms were locked. Knowledge of the site and access to it remained highly restricted until the late 1970s when IWM began the task of preserving the site.
In 1984 the main war rooms opened to the public. In 2003 further work opened the Courtyard Rooms, the areas where staff would eat, sleep and work. In 2005 we added the Churchill Museum, the only major museum in the world dedicated to Sir Winston Churchill
Guy Gibson (centre) was posted on 21 March 1943 to command the newly-formed No. 617 Squadron RAF at Scampton, Lincolnshire
617 Squadron practise dropping the 'Upkeep' weapon at Reculver bombing range. Dr Barnes Wallis is on the extreme left of the group.
Wing Commander Guy Gibson (in door of aircraft) and his crew board their Avro Lancaster bomber for No. 617 Squadron's raid on the Ruhr Dams, 16 May 1943.
Aerial reconnaissance (vertical) photograph showing the breach in the Mohne Dam caused by No 617 Squadron, Royal Air Force's raid on 16 May 1943.
Surviving members of 617 Squadron (except those who had gone to bed) stand at the entrance of the Officers' Mess at Scampton, Lincolnshire, after breakfast
Find out more about this session from the list below and then complete our visit request form.
Find out more about this session from the list below and then complete our visit request form.
Find out more about this session from the list below and then complete our visit request form.
Find out more about this session from the list below and then complete our visit request form.
Find out more about this session from the list below and then complete our visit request form.
A visit to Churchill War Rooms can support programmes of study in History, Art, English, Literacy and Citizenship and includes handling and interpreting original artefacts as well as using documents, photographs, posters, paintings and film.
Find out about the role played by this unique historic site, the iconic Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and discover more about life and conditions on the home front during the Second World War.
60 minutes
Evaluate the relationship between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin. Work with written sources to identify key moments, assess the balance of power and uncover the rationale behind decisions of the Grand Alliance between 1939 and 1945.
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90 minutes
Develop the skills to access and analyse written sources. Sessions are available for students on the OCR Churchill 1920-1945 course on topics including India, the Abdication and the General Strike.
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90 minutes
Using the knowledge you have about Winston Churchill, devise your own enquiry about him and undertake an investigation of the Churchill Museum, focusing on Leadership. Record your evidence and then discuss your results with the rest of the group.
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60 minutes
How can original artefacts help you learn about the Home Front during the Second World War? Working in small groups, practice your enquiry skills and then use what you have found out to create a mini-exhibition for the other students to view.
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60 minutes
Work with written sources to assess the changing nature of the relationship between Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States between 1943 and 1951.
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From the World Wars to the Cold War, IWM gives teachers and students in UK schools everything they need to explore the course, causes and consequences of conflict from the First World War to today.
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