Opens 11 February 2005
The world's first major museum dedicated to the life of Sir Winston Churchill
opens at the Cabinet War Rooms in February. This permanent exhibition is housed
within the unique setting of the historic rooms that provided shelter for the
British Prime Minister and his government during the Second World War. The
Churchill Museum presents a multifaceted portrait of the icon; his public and
private life, his talents and flaws.
For more information click here: http://churchillmuseum.iwm.org.uk/server.php?show=nav.00i
Churchill Lecture Series
This series of lectures will run from March until December 2005 to commemorate
forty years since Winston Churchill's death. The programme will include a range
of high profile guests speaking on aspects of Churchill as explored in the
Churchill Museum.
For more information click here: http://cwr.iwm.org.uk/server/show/nav.00f003
The Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms will be hosting a special event to commemorate the celebrations of 1945. Modelled on the street parties of the time, including music and activities, we are inviting visitors, local schools and CWR veterans to come along and join in the fun!
The stories and reminiscences collected at this special event will be used to create a 'memory bank' about the end of the Second World War. We will produce a rich oral history resource to be explored during drop-in public workshops held during Veteran's Awareness Week and also on VJ Day.
The National Commemoration of the end of the Second World War on 10 July will take place right on the doorstep of the Churchill Museum and the Cabinet War Rooms. Why not come and explore the historic rooms from which the war was won, before joining the remembrance events in and around St James's Park?
30 May - 3 June
Come along to our family workshops and find out what it was like to live in
1945. Make decorations to celebrate the end of the war, learn how to 'make do
and mend', create a piece of propaganda, watch films from the '40s and test your
knowledge with our computer games and quizzes.
For more information click here: http://cwr.iwm.org.uk/server/show/nav.00f003
These historic underground rooms served as the nerve centre of Churchill's
government during the Second World War. They have been kept exactly as they were
before the lights were extinguished after six years of war. You can now step
back in time and walk through the actual rooms, experiencing the atmosphere and
conditions of those times. You can also find out more about Churchill's role as
war leader between 1940-1945, and see fascinating colour footage of the VE Day
celebrations in the new Churchill Museum.
For more information about visiting the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms
click here
For more information click here: http://cwr.iwm.org.uk/
Seen by most planners as no more than temporary, the Cabinet War Rooms became fully operational on 27 August 1939, exactly a week before the German invasion of Poland and Britain's declaration of war. This 'temporary' measure was to serve as the central shelter for government and military strategists for the next six years.
With the surrender of the Japanese forces in the Far East in August 1945, the
Rooms were no longer needed and, on 16 August 1945, the lights in the Central
Map Room were switched off for the very first time since the start of the war
and the door was locked. The room was left almost exactly as we see it today,
every book, map, chart, pin and notice occupying the same position now that they
occupied then.
The walls are pasted with large scale maps of the Atlantic, the seas around the
United Kingdom and Far Eastern theatres of war including maps showing the
island-hopping operations by the American sea-borne forces in the Pacific.
The Churchill Museum explores the life and achievements of Winston Churchill, including, of course, his leadership during the Second World War. This section of the exhibition ends with Churchill being ousted from power in July 1945. 'Why did Churchill lose the 1945 election?' remains one of the questions most frequently asked by visitors, and the new museum presents several possible answers, including the electorate's distrust of the Conservative Party and Churchill's perceived lack of interest in domestic policy.
The Churchill Museum then looks beyond the end of the war and the shower of national and international honours that were bestowed upon Churchill as well as the world wide political influence he continued to hold.
To mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in 2005 the Cabinet War Rooms will be free to those aged 60 and over on VE Day (8 May),VJ Day (15 August), the National Day of Commemoration (11 July) and Armistice Day (11 November).
To find out more information on planning your visit, click here: http://cwr.iwm.org.uk/server/show/nav.00f002