The Western Approaches Museum in Liverpool

In Brief.

The Western Approaches Museum is located in a bunker underneath an office building in Liverpool town centre, not far from the waterfront.  The focus of the museum is the bunker from which actions in the 2nd World War Battle of the Atlantic were coordinated. The centrepiece is a striking Operations Room, but there are also videos to provide more information, examples of equipment, staff accommodation and reconstructed streets to provide some context.  There is more on the Battle of the Atlantic in the nearby Maritime Museum.

The Operations Room.

What's Here?

The Battle of the Atlantic involved allied convoys traversing the Atlantic Ocean, largely trying to avoid or sink German U-boats, and continued from 1939 to 1945.  The role of the Western Approaches Command, which was based in the bunker, was to coordinate the convoys, their escorts and air cover, with a view to maximising the number of ships making it through. 

The museum itself is fully underground, occupying the well-preserved bunker that seems to have been essentially untouched in the intervening years, prior to being opened as a museum in 2017.  Videos introduce the Battle of the Atlantic, as well as describing evolving technologies and tactics that eventually led to the destruction of the U-boat fleet. 

A visit follows a set route, including a street with shops and information on the role of Liverpool in the war, and includes visits to rooms that host communications equipment and staff accommodation, while telling the story of the people who worked in the outfit, who were mostly women, their roles and responsibilities.  Reflecting the role of women, there is a recently opened museum on the Women's Royal Naval Service.

Overall, this is a well-preserved piece of wartime history that shines a light on the behind-the-scenes activities that informed an important military campaign. 

A teleprinter used with intercepted German communications.

If a visit to the Western Approaches Museum gives you a taste for military bunkers, this blog series also features a Cold War Bunker.

Practicalities.

Distance from Manchester Town Hall: 35 miles

Drive Time: 1 hour 

Price: $$

Parking: There is paid parking nearby, though I parked at the Waterfront and walked up.

Food and Drink: Not on site.

Retail therapy: There is a minimal gift shop.

Child Friendly: Not explicitly, though there could be some interest.

Toilets: Yes.

Do it justice in: 90 minutes.

Inside-Outside: 100:0

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