German Military Underground Hospital, Guernsey

History:

from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guernsey/content/articles/2004/07/20/german_military_underground_hospital_about_feature.shtml

The german underground hospital and ammunition store is the largest remaining structure from the Occupation in the Channel Islands. Almost invisible from the surface the tunnel complex covers 7000 square metres.


taken from bbc

Construction started in the winter of 1940 - the first winter of the Occupation.

The tunnels were dug out by hundreds of slave workers from France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Belgium, Holland, Poland, Russia and Guernsey.

To dig the tunnels the workers had to use not only explosives and pneumatic drills but picks, shovels, sledge hammers and bare hands.The German Military Underground Hospital and Ammunition Store took three and a half years of work before it was ready.
Work stopped when the D-Day battle began. Parts of the bunker have never been finished, and there are still visible two tunels that got started but have never been finished.

There were three tunnel entrances and five ventilation shafts with iron ladders or concrete steps so they could be used as emergency exits.
They range in depth from 45 feet to 75 feet. The 75 foot shaft has a reservoir dug into one side which could hold thousands of gallons of water.



Was only there for half an hour without any equipment hence the slight blurryness in some.


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this room was once full of beds

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here they are slowly rusting away

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the kitchen

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a whole room in a bunker full of wine?

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