The Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms commemorates its seventieth anniversary this year from when it became operational in August 1939, the week before war was declared, and 25 years from April 1984 when it was designated as a historic site and opened to the public.

A series of events, activities, screenings and lectures will take place throughout the year with an exhibition: Undercover: Life in Churchill's Bunker, opening to the public on 27 August.

The exhibition will focus on the personal accounts of the men and women who worked at the Cabinet War Rooms during the tumultuous events of the Second World War, Images, artefacts and the first-hand oral accounts of those who worked in the Cabinet War Rooms bring the working conditions in Churchill's secret underground headquarters vividly to life.

Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms commemorates its seventieth anniversary this year from when it became operational in August 1939, the week before war was declared. An exhibition opens to the public on 27 August entitled Undercover - Life in Churchill's Bunker and will examine living and working in the Cabinet War Rooms during the Second World War.

The exhibition will focus on the personal accounts of the men and women who worked at the Cabinet War Rooms during the tumultuous events of the Second World War. Images, artefacts and the first-hand oral accounts of those who worked in the Cabinet War Rooms bring the working conditions in Churchill's secret underground headquarters vividly to life.

Dr Christopher Baxter

Uninvited and Unwelcome Guests: Spies and British Diplomacy in Neutral Europe during the Second World War.

Almost from its inception, SIS enjoyed a frequently problematic relationship with the diplomats of the Foreign Office. The Second World War brought even greater challenges with the need to reconcile operational intelligence requirements with the maintenance of diplomatic protocols. Dr Christopher Baxter is a Research Fellow in Intelligence History at Queen's University Belfast.

The Churchill Lecture Series, which runs from September 2009 until April 2010, is presented by some of the world's leading authorities on Churchill. They take place within the remarkable and historic setting of the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms. Sponsored by Military History.

Professor Gary Sheffield
Fighting for Churchill? The ordinary British soldier in the Second World War

In this lecture Professor Sheffield turns his attention to the Second World War, examining the impact of combat on the ordinary soldier and analysing their motivation for fighting. In the process he highlights the true, often misunderstood costs of war on the individual. Gary Sheffield is Professor of War Studies at the University of Birmingham. Author of numerous outstanding books and articles on the history of the two World Wars, he is famous for his work in demythologising accepted perceptions of the 1914-18 War.

The Churchill Lecture Series, which runs from September 2009 until April 2010, is presented by some of the world's leading authorities on Churchill. They take place within the remarkable and historic setting of the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms. Sponsored by Military History.

Dr Nigel Steel
With Winston Churchill at the Front

From November 1915 to May 1916, Churchill served in the trenches of France and Belgium, enduring danger and hardship alongside the men he commanded. This talk will take a detailed look at his time ‘at the front' and show how Churchill proved to be a very able, if unusual, leader of men, rebuilding their morale after the losses they had suffered some weeks before. Head of the Imperial War Museum's Research and Information Department, Nigel Steel is currently working as Principal Historian on the Lord Ashcroft Gallery Project.

The Churchill Lecture Series, which runs from September 2009 until April 2010, is presented by some of the world's leading authorities on Churchill. They take place within the remarkable and historic setting of the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms. Sponsored by Military History.