The abandoned underground station that kept Sir Winston Churchill safe and helped win World War 2 | The Sun
AN ABANDONED tube station in London kept Sir Winston Churchill safe during World War 2 – and it can still be visited by tourists.
Down Street was briefly used as a working station from 1907 to 1932 but its most important role was to protect the Prime Minister and help him win the Second World War.
The station was covertly transformed into the Railway Executive Committee’s bomb-proof headquarters.
From there Sir Winston Churchill hid during bombing raids on the capital and plotted the Allied Forces' ultimately successful war efforts.
The station was chosen to be turned into a bunker in early 1939, to protect government operations from bombing.
The platform faces were bricked up and platform areas and passages were turned into offices, meeting rooms and dormitories.
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Siddy Holloway, Engagement Manager for London Transport Museum's Hidden London, told Sun Online Travel how secret the station was kept during the war.
She said: "The Churchill secret station is Down Street, which is between Hyde Park Corner and Green Park.
"They're a warren of narrow tunnels where the nation’s railways were coordinated, and where Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill secretly took refuge at the height of the Blitz.
"It's a great example of a place which was shrouded in secrecy – people had to sign the Official Secrets Act in order to go there.
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