Old War Office up for sale

LONDON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- The Old War Office, where British officials developed strategy during World War I and World War II, could be up for sale soon.

The asking price is expected to be around $70 million, not much for a seven-story building with a prestige address, ornate details, secret tunnels and 1,000 rooms, The Independent reported. But the buyer would also have to spend a lot of money modernizing the building for modern tastes and needs.

The Old War Office, replacing the even older War Office, was completed in 1910 and served as the main headquarters for Britain's military operations until 1964. It is still used by the Defense Intelligence Service, The Independent said.

Its occupants have included Field Marshal Herbert Kitchener, who served as secretary of state for war at the beginning of World War I, T.E. Lawrence -- Lawrence of Arabia -- who created maps in 1914 in an office in the building, Winston Churchill from 1919 to 1921 and, more recently, John Profumo, who resigned as secretary of state for war in a sex scandal.