Taking a tour of Green park was my first taste of London’s culture. In Green park, the Britons have erected monuments commemorating the soldiers of nations under the crown who gave their lives for Britain. They are beautiful monuments which Illustrate just how much the British respect and revere their Allies. But once we visited the classic sites of Bletchley park and the Churchill war rooms, it was easy to see that the British are firm believers in the people’s war. Britain respects her own people who committed to the war effort just as much as its allies nations during the war effort.
The Churchill war rooms illustrate the people’s war. To the British, Churchill was their ultimate role model. The war rooms show that Churchill did his all to embody the inspiration the British needed for the war effort. Churchill fought hard to stay above ground and not show weakness in front of the British people. Even when he was forced to go below ground he felt remorseful. The War-rooms even stated that Churchill participated in the rationing and other restrictions just as the common people did. Churchill did exactly what he needed to do for the British people by embodying the leader they needed to rally behind.
At Bletchley park, we got a first-hand look at the mission undertaken by the British people to provide covert intelligence. Bletchley commemorates individuals like Alan Turing and the many women who committed their efforts to the people’s war. I didn’t know anything about Bletchley park before visiting the site but it was amazing to see the commitment of these individuals.Back home, Bletchley Park was made out to be the work of one man, Alan Turing. The story was that basically Turing alone had cracked the enigma code single-handedly. While I believe that Turing certainly is a hero, he didn’t do all this work alone. All the citizens who made the ten-mile bike ride to work in order to contribute like Turing deserve credit too. The people’s war or the collective effort of the citizens is perfectly embodied in Bletchley Park.
One of our last stops was the Imperial war museum. Which I enjoyed. However, I was disappointed because of the lack of WWII exhibits. The definite focus of the museum was in WWI. I will say that the WWI exhibit was terrific but it’s not the conflict we have come to study. The WWII section was very typical of other military museums. Many photos of destroyed cities, collections of rubble, a tank or two. But ultimately it was underwhelming. This museum didn’t convey a deep enough message about the people’s war as I would have liked. But, that being noted, I can’t take away from this museums holocaust floor. It was the first time in a long time when studying this material that I was REALLY taken aback. The holocaust is always difficult to study, however, this museum’s model of Auschwitz and the videos of live executions were too much to take in. I found myself rushing out towards the back end of the exhibit to get some air.
In London, I observed a theme of camaraderie. The memorials portray camaraderie among Britain’s soldiers and it’s civilians who did their part in WWII. But, what was interesting to me was that the theme of camaraderie carried over to London’s citizens today. In the pubs, strangers act like families. In the street, people are always eager to help. The people of this country respect this war and those who did their duties. London represents the People’s War, I’m ready to experience what the rest of our trip has in store.
Memorial to canada. Cant get it to rotate.
kevin