Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The huge building across Whitehall from Downing Street is the
Ministry of Defence
(MOD), the “British Pentagon.” This bleak place looks like a Ministry of Defence should.
In front are statues of illustrious defenders of Britain. “Monty” is
Field Marshal Bernard
Law Montgomery
of World War II, who beat the Nazis in North Africa (defeating Erwin
“The Desert Fox” Rommel at El Alamein), giving the Allies a jumping-off point to retake
Europe. Along with Churchill, Monty breathed confidence back into a demoralized Brit-
ish army, persuading them they could ultimately beat Hitler. A
memorial
honoring the
women who fought and died in World War II stands in the middle of the street. Its empty
uniforms evoke the often-overlooked sacrifices of Britain's female war heroes.
You may be enjoying the shade of London's
plane trees.
They do well in polluted
London: roots that work well in clay, waxy leaves that self-clean in the rain, and bark that
sheds and regenerates so the pollution doesn't get into the trees' vascular systems.
• At the equestrian statue of Haig (described earlier), you'll be flanked by the Welsh and
Scottish government offices. At the corner (same side as the Ministry of Defence), you'll
find the...
