A Review By Keith Smith

First of all the publisher’s blurb….For the first time, the history of the bunker – and daily life inside it – is revealed, by bestselling historian Richard Holmes. ‘This is the room from which I will direct the war’, Churchill declared, shortly after becoming Prime Minister in 1940. It was from these cramped confines that Churchill turned a seemingly inevitable defeat at the hands of the Nazis into a famous victory.

Built in 1938 as a temporary refuge in case of air raid attack, this secret bunker became a second home to Churchill – and to large numbers of military personnel and civil servants whose work until now has been largely unsung. Drawing on a fascinating range of original material, including new first-hand accounts of the people who lived there, Holmes reveals how and why the bunker and its war machine developed; how the inhabitants’ lives were transformed; and, how their work led to victory. Elegant and illuminating, “Churchill’s Bunker” is a unique exploration of one of the most important sites in British history.

Richard Holmes, one of our best military historians, died shortly after this book was published but unfortunately it is not one of his best. It is very disjointed to start with, trying to show the history of the conception and building and use of the bunker within the context of the wider world events that were taking place. It doesn’t quite work.  But also, and here’s the rub, Churchill didn’t really use the bunker an awful lot, despite his saying he would direct the war from here. Because throughout his life he was extremely brave, he preferred to stay above ground, despite the dangers. So in a sense we are defrauded…we get quite a lot of background about what it was like to be in the bunker for those who worked there, but Churchill wasn’t one of them! Also when he travels (which he did a terrific amount), the book follows him…and the bunker is left behind. So, all in all, I don’t think this book adds an awful lot to what we know about the war or about Churchill. Pity.