Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches, WW2 Royal Navy command position, based in Liverpool, England
The Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches headquarters was an underground command centre in Liverpool that managed Atlantic naval operations. The complex contained operational rooms, communications areas, and living quarters connected by tunnels beneath the city.
The centre was built during the Second World War to coordinate British naval forces against German submarines in the Atlantic. After the war it was decommissioned but preserved, and is now open to visitors as a museum.
This site served as a nerve centre for coordinating naval operations and watching over convoy movements across the Atlantic. Visitors today can see the underground rooms where officers tracked ships in real time and communicated with vessels at sea.
Access to the site is by guided tour, which shows the underground rooms and their original fittings. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes as there are many stairs and narrow passages, and it stays cool below ground.
The facility sits beneath an ordinary residential building and was so secret during the war that many Liverpool residents never knew it existed. Even today, visitors are often surprised to discover such a large command centre hidden under city streets.
Location: Liverpool city centre
Inception: 1939
Part of: Royal Navy
GPS coordinates: 53.40740,-2.99320
Latest update: December 6, 2025 19:10
This collection showcases Liverpool's main monuments, museums, and cultural sites, a busy port in the northwest of England. The city grew from maritime trade and still shows this history in its renovated docks, maritime museums, and Victorian buildings along the Mersey River. Liverpool also has art...
Oriel Chambers
100 m
Liverpool Town Hall
111 m
Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas, Liverpool
115 m
Nelson Monument
81 m
Western Approaches Museum
12 m
Unity Buildings
109 m
Martins Bank Building
68 m
Albany
150 m
Hargreaves Building
67 m
Tower Building
135 m
Liverpool, London and Globe Building
136 m
Abell memorial
84 m
K6 Telephone Kiosk Adjacent To Liverpool Town Hall
78 m
New Quay Ventilation Station To The Mersey Road Tunnel
159 m
Mason's Building
152 m
General Accident
128 m
Exchange Flags War Memorial
97 m
Mersey Chambers
64 m
Nautilus House, Liverpool
108 m
City Buildings
148 m
Retaining Wall To West Of, And Railings To South Of Church Of Our Lady And St Nicholas
144 m
K2 Telephone Call Box Outside Liverpool Town Hall
84 m
Midshires Building Society
119 m
Simpson Fountain
155 m
Cheltenham And Gloucester Building Society
141 m
Midshires Building Society
130 m
Harley Buildings
121 m
Midland Bank
157 mVisited this place? Tap the stars to rate it and share your experience / photos with the community! Try now! You can cancel it anytime.
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