The Cabinet Room

This was the inner sanctum of British government, the room used for meetings of the Prime Minister, a select few ministers and advisers of his War Cabinet and his Chiefs of Staff.

Over 115 Cabinet meetings – approximately one in ten – were held here throughout the duration of the war.

Churchill occupied the large wooden seat in front of the map of the world and presided over a coalition of ministers drawn from all sides of Parliament.

Cabinet meetings could start and finish at any time of day or night. Churchill called meetings here during the evening bombing raids of 1940 and 1941 and sometimes brought them to a close long after midnight.