York and a Family Meet-up

Churchill War Rooms 

Today was a long and tiring day of walking! I nervously used the Tube for the first time to get to Westminster. Marble Arch station to Bond, then transfer to the Jubilee Line. There were plenty of employees to help me find my way so I didn’t get lost but, lots of walking to get to the station and then once at the transfer point many levels and long passageways to reach the other line. Whew! 

The underground is really fast and they don’t allow much time to get on/off. Not really handicapped friendly I’d say. There were lifts at the Bond station where you transfer but mostly steps everywhere. 

It is raining, cold and windy. Glad I had my London Fog trench coat with hood and layers! It reminds me of Seattle weather, just overcast and rain off and on all day. 

Churchill War Rooms were quite interesting. I spent 3 hours there. Lighting is dim and with so many people I didn’t take many photos. 

The British government used the basement war rooms for 5 years. There were small sleeping quarters for the highest officials, a kitchen, several rooms for communications, meeting, maps of up to date battle locations and troop movements, and very little else. Low ceilings, concrete floors, no windows of course, and definitely austere. 

Churchill himself didn’t stay there all the time, mostly when there were attacks or threat of attack going on. The typists and other staff worked 12 hr. Shifts and only had two hours up top a day. 

One of the things that struck me the most was the smoking. Everyone smoked in those days and ventilation was poor. One secretary commented you could see a cloud of smoke hanging over their heads. Ugh! I can’t imagine breathing that kind of air! 

That area is really the hub of many tourist sites: Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abby, etc. Too many people for me to deal with unless you have advance booking to skip the lines. 

 I walked over the Westminster Bridge to the Florence Nightingale Museum in St. Thomas hospital. This is a small museum but very interesting to me since I research 19th Century medicine. Florence was really the inspiration for the profession of nursing. Purchased her book and now I’m reading as I go along.