London/Normandy 2016: Day 7

The War Cabinet Room

   Today we went to the War Cabinet Rooms, which were the secret British government headquarters

throughout the Second World War. The War Rooms were laid out as a museum that explained the importance of the underground headquarters due to the German Blitz that targeted London and other British cities during the Second World War.

The Atlantic Charter: The Allied Response to German Occupation Policies

The War Rooms also included a large museum about the life of Churchill and it presented an even handed account of his accomplishments and failures. It started with his early childhood, but then explained how he became more prominent before the First World War. His rise into politics was eased after he became known for escaping from a POW camp in 1898 and subsequently becoming a war hero. The exhibition didn't gloss over his errors or faults, as it examined both the Gallipoli campaign and his opposition to Indian independence. The war and map rooms displayed the seriousness of the Second World War, and how it was a very different type of war, one that required the coordination of all of society in order to achieve victory. Overall, the museum did not glorify war by any means; rather it simply showed the challenges that the war brought to the British and how Churchill's government dealt with them.

Dr. Marcus Faulkner leads a tour of the HMS Belfast

After the War Rooms, some of us got the opportunity to tour the HMS Belfast. The HMS Belfast was a Royal Navy cruiser that was used in both World War II and the Korean War. The ship was very interesting because we got the opportunity to explore its entirety, climbing up and down the ladders just like the sailors of the Royal Navy did. We soon realized that it would have been challenging to live on the ship because of the small space, horrid smell, and little touch with the outside world. In many places, if the ship was hit there was no way for the crew to get out and they would go down with the ship. Naval historian Dr. Marcus Faulkner guided us on the tour and gave us much useful information about the ship and how it was used during the war. Overall, the ship was very interesting and the tour was the first time that many of us have had the opportunity to walk through a war ship.

After the tour of the Belfast, we had the opportunity to grab lunch in the market were we had a plethora of options, which included Indian food, sandwiches, potatoes, and salted meat. A group of us then explored the city a little and went into a great chocolate and tea shop, where we all got some to take back home with us.

Westminster Abbey

 Those who passed on the Belfast tour instead visited Westminster Abbey. The Abbey is massive. There is It is gigantic in scale architecturally. It is of huge importance to Britain and the world culturally. And it is the final resting place of an almost uncountable number of historic giants. In fact, walking through Westminster Abbey, one student notes that the only thing that felt small was "me".

no other way of phrasing it.
For a small contingent of our group, touring the inside of Westminster Abbey was an essential, the last box remaining to be checked on the bucket list. Especially famous today as the site of the royal wedding in 2011, Westminster Abbey has also been the site of royal coronations since 1066 and is the home of the coronation chair. Seventeen monarchs are buried there, along with several hundred of the most illustrious names of British history, including Mary, Queen of Scots, Sir Isaac Newton, William Wilberforce, George Frederic Handel, and Henry Purcell. These, and thousands of others, are laid to rest amidst glorious paintings, sculptures, pillars, and inscriptions, under a soaring ceiling and bathed in the filtered light of hundreds of stained glass windows. Awe-inspiring and overwhelming, Westminster Abbey is truly the fitting embodiment of a national history that is both ancient and impressive.

Crepe 1: Pierce 0

For dinner, we got on the subway to go to a French creperie, were we all enjoyed our crepes, with the exception of one student who was utterly defeated by a combination of crepe and berries. 

After dinner, we walked around the area a bit and saw the world famous Royal Albert Hall. We then went back to the hostel to pack and get ready to head to Normandy.