Churchill was furious when he discovered that his bunker was not bombproof
July 20th, 2009 - 3:09 pm ICT by ANILondon, July 20 (ANI): Britain’s wartime Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, was furious reportedly when he discovered that his secret bunker headquarters was not bombproof, a letter has now revealed.
Churchill accused advisers of ”selling him a pup” by letting him think the famous Cabinet War Rooms in London’s Whitehall would withstand a Nazi bomb attack.
In the letter, written by Patrick Duff, permanent secretary at the Office of Works, to cabinet secretary Sir Edward Bridges in 1940 after a meeting with Churchill, he says: “The PM said I had ’sold him a pup’ in letting him think this place is a bombproof shelter, whereas it is nothing of the kind. I was a bit indignant when I was accused of representing it as in any sense bombproof.”
The letter is going on show for the first time at a new exhibition to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War, the Daily Express reports.
Exhibition curator Cressida Finch said: “This tells us a lot about Churchill’s personal bravery. Although he was angry on learning that the War Rooms were not completely safe, he was determined not to leave central London and be seen as abandoning Londoners.”
After two near misses, Churchill ordered the strengthening of the War Rooms with slabs of concrete but it still would have been no match for the larger bombs deployed by the end of the war.
The shelter where Churchill conducted operations with his war cabinet was only 10 feet under ground. Hitler’s Berlin bunker was 33 feet deep.
Phil Reed, Churchill Museum director, said several War Room veterans remained oblivious of their vulnerability throughout their period of service.
War Room typist Joy Hunter said: “When we were there thinking about the bombing and the buzz bombs I always felt completely safe.” (ANI)
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