428:
266:, five floors below the building's previously existing South Citadel. Construction took ten years and cost £126.3 million. Pindar became operational in 1992, two years before construction was complete. Computer equipment was much more expensive to install than originally estimated as there was very little physical access to the site. Pindar can house a maximum of 400 personnel and provides protection against conventional bombing, sabotage, biological and chemical attack, flooding,
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536:. At the southern end, an 8 ft (2.4 m) diameter extension (Scheme 2845A) connects to a shaft under Court 6 of the Treasury Building: this provided the protected route from the Cabinet War Room. This was known as Y-Whitehall. The 8 ft (2.4 m) tunnel was further extended (Scheme 2845B) to the
241:
A large network of tunnels exists below London for a variety of communications, civil defence and military purposes; however, it is unclear how these tunnels, and the various facilities linked to them, fit together, if at all. Even the number and nature of these facilities is unclear; only a few have
290:
Pindar is connected to
Downing Street and the Cabinet Office by a tunnel under Whitehall; the tunnel predated the bunker and was already used as a conduit between the Cabinet Office and the MOD Main Building, with Downing Street access being added during Pindar's construction. The tunnel can be used
471:
The Map Room is adjacent, from where the course of the war was directed. It is still in much the same condition as when it was abandoned, with the original maps still on the walls and telephones and other original artefacts on the desks. Churchill slept in a small bedroom nearby. There is a small
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The section of the War Rooms open to the public is in fact only a portion of a much larger facility. They originally covered three acres (1.2 hectares) and housed a staff of up to 528 people, with facilities including a canteen, hospital, shooting range and dormitories. The centrepiece of the War
591:, the old Cabinet War Rooms, and various telephone exchanges, and created a map of both this network and the deep level cable network based on his investigation. Those shafts that could be readily accessed by the public were promptly sealed up following the publication of Campbell's article.
299:
would say only that there were "sufficient means of access and egress" and denied that the bunker was connected to any transport system; he also said that there were means of leaving Pindar should the MOD Main
Building collapse on top of it, but did not state the details of these.
295:, without the risk of encountering hostile demonstrations. When answering written questions about Pindar, which included a question on the extent of lift and staircase access to the bunker and on whether there was any connection to transport systems, then-Armed Forces Minister
307:
carried out an extensive photographic survey of an underground facility that was widely believed (and strongly hinted) to be Pindar, with Moore stating in later years that Pindar was indeed the facility depicted in the photographs. The photographs, which were published as
540:. This extension housed the 'Federal' telephone exchange which had a dialling code of 333 from the public network. In the 1980s it housed Horseferry Tandem which provided a unified communications system for all government departments as well as the Palace of Westminster.
460:. However, the Cabinet War Rooms were vulnerable to a direct hit and were abandoned not long after the war. The Cabinet War Rooms were a secret to all civilians until their opening to the public in 1984. They are now a popular tourist attraction maintained by the
503:
The facility was built in a 12 ft (3.7 m) diameter tunnel during World War II, and extends under
Whitehall. A similar facility was constructed in a tunnel that ran parallel to the Aldwych branch of the Piccadilly Line and was known as Trunks Kingsway
1002:"I made these photographs of Pindar in 2007... seen in The Last Things (Dewi Lewis publications) #nuclearbunker #pindar #mod, currently bring [sic] prepped by the army in 'anticipation of s no deal Brexit ' , davidmoore.uk.com/projects/the-l..."
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The site provided protected accommodation for the lines and terminal equipment serving the most important government departments, civil and military, to ensure the command and control of the war could continue despite heavy bombing of London.
553:
The
Whitehall tunnels appear to have been extended in the early 1950s. Some official documents refer to a Scheme 3245: this is the only numbered tunnel scheme that has never been officially revealed or located by researchers. Files in the
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by government ministers to enter Pindar without risking the press attention, and subsequent damage to national morale, that would ensue if the bunker was openly entered and, as was the case when the bunker was used for meetings on the
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equipment to personal hygiene items. It has bunks for up to 100 military officers, politicians and civilians as well as communication facilities, a medical centre and maps.
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must have had a sense of what it might be like if he ever had to tread for real the 'secret' corridor under
Whitehall which links No. 10 and the Cabinet Office with PINDAR.
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would pass beneath
Whitehall, using this time the underground tunnel which links the MOD with the Cabinet Office, thus avoiding demonstrations in the street above.
363:, with foundations 30 ft (9.1 m) deep and a 20-foot (6.1 m) thick concrete roof. It is also linked by tunnels to government buildings in Whitehall.
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would join them and the group would transmogrify into 'The
Secretary of State's Meeting' At the conclusion of 'The Secretary of State's Meeting', Robertson and
508:). The project was known as 'Post Office scheme 2845'. A detailed description, with photographs, was published just after the war in the January 1946 edition of
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Its brutal functionality speaks of a very practical purpose; in the event of a German invasion, it was intended that the building would become a fortress, with
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that a variety of plants be used was rejected by the minister on the grounds that it would "make it like an old-world tea garden". It became a Grade II
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Spur tunnels, 5 ft (1.5 m) in diameter, were built to provide protected cable routes to the major service buildings either side of
Whitehall.
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Although Pindar is not open to the public, it has had some public exposure. Between
September 2006 and April 2007, the British photographer
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Government
Emergency Rooms (comprising the Prime Minister, Secretaries of State, the Cabinet Secretary, and some Permanent Secretaries)
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Access to the tunnel is gained via an 8 ft (2.4 m) lateral tunnel and a lift shaft in the nearby Whitehall telephone exchange in
155:
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described it in his memoirs as a "vast monstrosity which weighs upon the Horse Guards Parade". In 1955, a question was asked in the
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Pindar has two floors; the lower floor contains the Ministry of Defence's Joint Operations Centre, and the upper floor consists of:
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825:
At 8.00 each morning the Chiefs of Staff met in PINDAR with senior Defence Ministry officials and intelligence figures. At 8.30
532:(now merged with Charing Cross station), and to the BT deep level cable tunnels which were built under much of London during the
449:. This was not a purpose-built citadel but was instead a reinforced adaptation of an existing basement built many years before.
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attack, and the effects of blast, radiation, and EMP from "all but a direct hit or very near miss" by nuclear weapons.
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575:), various government department buildings including Downing Street, the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Defence, the
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386:, describing it as "a hideous building", announced that the heavy gun positions were to be removed and that planting
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238:. Unlike traditional above-ground citadels, these sites are primarily secure centres for defence coordination.
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managed to get into the tunnel network and described his exploration in the 19-26 December 1980 issue of the
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with the architect W. A. Forsyth as a consultant. It was designed as a bomb-proof operations centre for the
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1121:"Inside the Prime Minister's nuclear bunker: A TV studio, a map of Iran and enough toothpaste for months"
915:' secure crisis management environment' whose name is in the public domain but to which we may not refer.
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328:
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Photographer David Moore details his visit to London's secret crisis-command bunker, The Pindar Bunker.
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in 2008 as well as being exhibited in 2008 and in 2009, show that the facility has stores ranging from
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1293:"London history: Behind the 30 secret doorways that lead to a hidden 'miniature city' beneath London"
571:. He found more than thirty access shafts for the network as well as entrances to Q-Whitehall (below
415:, which became MARCOMM COMCEN (St Vincent) in 1998. The Admiralty Citadel is still used today by the
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which may relate to this have been closed for 75 years and will not be opened until the 2020s.
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telephone room (disguised as a toilet) down the corridor that provided a direct line to the
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A telecommunications secretariat and a Cabinet Office Communications Centre (COMCEN) element
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The Admiralty Citadel, London's most visible military citadel, is located just behind the
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are known to have been constructed underground in central London, dating mostly from the
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Sites equipped with unusual amounts of GPO/BT telecommunications plant are given a
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394:) would help to mask the concrete walls. In the same debate, a suggestion by MP
258:, or the Defence Crisis Management Centre. The bunker is located underneath the
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Q-Whitehall is the name given to a communications facility under Whitehall.
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774:(2001). "Beyond any Mortal? The Stretching of the Premiership Since 1945".
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In 1992 the Admiralty communications centre was established here as the
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The Burden of Power: Countdown to Iraq – The Alastair Campbell Diaries
934:"Daniel Soar · Short Cuts: Underground Bunkers · LRB 6 November 2008"
547:. A further entrance is via the deep level portion of the Admiralty.
468:
Rooms is the Cabinet Room itself, where Churchill's War Cabinet met.
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1208:"Admiralty Citadel - Volume 545: debated on Tuesday 1 November 1955"
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The only central London citadel currently open to the public is the
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At the northern end, a tunnel connects to a shaft up to the former
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The War Rooms were constructed in 1938 and were regularly used by
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whose house was the only one left standing in Thebes following
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445:, located in Horse Guards Road in the basement of what is now
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The Prime Minister: The Office and Its Holders Since 1945
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The Prime Minister: The Office and Its Holders Since 1945
846:"PINDAR Bunker HC Deb 29 April 1994 vol 242 cc392-4W"
863:
861:
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Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster
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136:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
809:(2001). "Command and Control: Tony Blair, 1997-".
858:
495:
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1153:"The Citadel, Horseguards Parade SW1 (1066638)"
971:"Inside London's secret crisis-command bunker"
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511:The Post Office Electrical Engineers' Journal
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378:about mitigating its harsh appearance. The
52:Learn how and when to remove these messages
1407:Military command and control installations
1402:United Kingdom nuclear command and control
1186:by Paul Talling, page 190, publ. 2008 by
920:
214:Learn how and when to remove this message
196:Learn how and when to remove this message
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293:1999 NATO bombing campaign in Yugoslavia
89:of all important aspects of the article.
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260:Ministry of Defence (MOD) Main Building
250:The most important military citadel in
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85:Please consider expanding the lead to
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390:(some sources identify the plants as
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1105:– via impressions-gallery.com.
1084:Freeman, Sarah (18 September 2009).
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355:. It was constructed in 1939 by the
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134:adding citations to reliable sources
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813:. New York: Palgrave. p. 505.
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606:Central Government War Headquarters
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1247:
1158:National Heritage List for England
1086:"Behind the doors of secret rooms"
854:. House of Commons. 29 April 1994.
778:. New York: Palgrave. p. 90.
14:
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1392:Military installations in England
1345:
1259:"A Christmas party for the moles"
752:from the original on 7 April 2024
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431:Interior of the Cabinet War Rooms
33:This article has multiple issues.
932:Soar, Daniel (6 November 2008).
868:Abrahams, Tim (September 2008).
370:provided to fend off attackers.
145:"Military citadels under London"
110:
63:
22:
1312:
1291:Elvery, Martin (6 March 2022).
1277:– via duncancampbell.org.
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1200:
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1057:O'Farrell, John (Autumn 2008).
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969:Brook, Pete (31 January 2011).
851:Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
616:Civil defence centres in London
521:. This site's code was L/QWHI.
282:Joint Intelligence Organisation
121:needs additional citations for
77:may be too short to adequately
41:or discuss these issues on the
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885:– via davidmoore.uk.com.
838:
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496:Q-Whitehall and tunnel network
319:The bunker is named after the
87:provide an accessible overview
1:
1119:Myall, Steve (22 July 2016).
940:. Vol. 30, no. 21.
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589:Department of the Environment
530:Trafalgar Square tube station
343:The Admiralty Citadel in 2008
242:been officially admitted to.
898:"Afterword, The Last Things"
7:
790:Like all his predecessors,
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506:Kingsway Telephone Exchange
10:
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1377:Local government in London
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368:loopholed firing positions
719:– via Google Books.
484:in an annexe basement of
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1397:Fortifications of London
1372:Infrastructure in London
642:Beneath the City Streets
601:Fortifications of London
519:BT site engineering code
896:Weight, Angela (2008).
538:Marsham Street Rotundas
1412:London in World War II
1073:– via issuu.com.
938:London Review of Books
640:Laurie, Peter (1979).
432:
344:
329:the city's destruction
1212:hansard.parliament.uk
430:
372:Sir Winston Churchill
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226:A number of military
1257:(19 December 1980).
870:"A Bunker Mentality"
668:(24 November 1983).
488:department store in
130:improve this article
1382:Subterranean London
1356:Imperial War Museum
1352:Churchill War Rooms
1234:"Whitehall tunnels"
621:Paddock (war rooms)
611:Subterranean London
482:a special scrambler
462:Imperial War Museum
417:Ministry of Defence
353:Horse Guards Parade
1328:duncancampbell.org
1094:The Yorkshire Post
694:Campbell, Alastair
433:
402:in December 1987.
349:Admiralty building
345:
280:An element of the
1196:978-1-905211-43-2
1059:"The Last Things"
1000:(21 March 2019).
903:davidmoore.uk.com
679:978-0-586-08479-3
651:978-0-586-05055-2
556:National Archives
454:Winston Churchill
443:Cabinet War Rooms
437:Cabinet War Rooms
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357:Ministry of Works
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1331:. Retrieved
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