Western Approaches Museum

Second World War command bunker frozen in time

Address 1 Rumford Street, Liverpool, L2 8SZ

A vast subterranean command bunker beneath the Exchange Flags building, from which the Royal Navy directed the Battle of the Atlantic between 1941 and 1945. The Operations Room, with its huge map table, charts and balcony from which the Wrens worked, is preserved more or less as it was when the war ended.

The museum spreads across some 50 rooms — coding rooms, teleprinter rooms, sleeping quarters, the admiral's office — and walking through them is a surprisingly intense experience. Allow two hours; there is a small charge for entry. One of the best-kept secrets in central Liverpool.

things to do museum
A story
The Battle of the Atlantic was largely run from this bunker — the longest continuous military campaign of the Second World War. When the war ended in 1945 the staff simply locked the doors and walked away; the rooms remained sealed and dust-covered for over 40 years before being opened to the public.

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