Latest news with #NaziBunker
The Sun
06-08-2025
- The Sun
We dug up our driveway only to uncover sinister 60-year-old BUNKER with mystery code scrawled on walls
A COUPLE discovered a World War II Nazi bunker hidden under their home in Guernsey. Bizarrely, they have decided to have a Halloween party in the eerie lair and plan to preserve the slice of history. 10 10 10 Shaun, 35, and Caroline Tullier, 32, moved into their new house which they started renovating. However, as they began the process, they were stunned to discover a large bunker with two large rooms and a hallway. The chilling discovery had phrases written in German on the walls, including "achtung feind hort mit" - which translates to "beware, the enemy is listening". The couple of Torteval, Guernsey, moved into their home in October 2021. Shaun said they knew about the site being used as a German gun emplacement. However, there was always "a suspicion" there was something else there. German forces occupied the Channel Islands from 1940 until 1945 and, under Adolf Hitler's orders, turned the islands into an "impregnable fortress". Shaun said: "I was born in Guernsey, so I always knew about bunkers, but when Guernsey people came back to Guernsey after the war, they wanted to fill all the bunkers up. "A lot of people still have bunkers here, but they are down the road and in gardens - not underneath the house. "You just never knew what state these bunkers are in - where they are, how deep they are - you can't start digging all round just to try and find out. Ex Al Qaeda operative went from concocting bombs in an undercover bunker to one of MI5's most audacious spies "We knew the actual foundation of the house had been utilised as a German gun storage - but we didn't know if there were any rooms. "We always thought, 'imagine that!' but we had no factual information around it." Shaun explained how initially they pair wanted to convert their front garden into a turning point - so they dug it up, and gravelled it over during works. Shaun, who works as a carpenter, advertised chopping boards on Facebook Marketplace and his post was spotted by the former owner of the house. She got in touch with him and asked if he'd found the secret rooms under the property. He said: "The old owner of the house got in touch with me - as she recognised the very pink kitchen in the photos. She told him that she used to play inside the rooms when she was younger, but that her dad filled them in. Sean continued: "It was very interesting - so I then said to my wife, we're going to have to dig up the drive again - a week after putting it down. "I told my friend about the news, and he thought it sounded ace - so replied, if you get the digger, I'll dig it up!" They ended up digging up 100 tonne of ground and discovering the entrance to the bunker. The bunker consisted of two main rooms measuring 17ft by 10ft and 17ft by 20ft, and a hallway which is 30ft by four ft wide. From ground level to floor level of bunker is 26ft down. The couple discovered an escape hatch and the original tiled floor was littered with old bottles and rubble. Shaun labelled the discovery as "completely wild", adding "You can't really put it into words." "It's not just rooms for us, it's a part of history," he said. During the work, the family ended up putting 80 tonnes of concrete in for the walls and steps, and they are still converting the bunker into a games room - fitted with a snooker table and a gym. They are keeping the German writing on the walls too, and are hoping to have floor down and the bunker painted by November this year. Shaun added: "It's not something you find everyday! "We are definitely keeping the writing - and might get someone that can calligraphy it back on, otherwise it gets lost. Even the air getting to it has faded it a bit. "So in that way we can kind of frame it. "My wife is not happy, she wants the house done - not the bunker! "But I have promised everyone a Halloween party down there for the last three years, so fingers crossed it's happening this year - it's my duty to uphold." During the Occupation, hundreds of islanders were deported to prisons in Europe and many who remained on the islands nearly starved. Guernsey and Jersey were liberated when the occupation ended on 9 May 1945. Sark was liberated a day later, while Alderney, where most of the islanders had been forced to leave their homes, could not return until 15 December 1945. Islanders now celebrate the end of the German occupation with Liberation Day events in Guernsey, Jersey and Sark, along with Homecoming Day in Alderney. 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Daily Mail
06-08-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Couple discover World War Two Nazi bunker with eerie phrase etched on the wall underneath their home
A couple have discovered a World War II Nazi bunker under their home - and it holds some eerie echoes of the past. Shaun Tullier, 35, and wife Caroline, 32, had what lay beneath their new house on the island of Guernsey when they moved in in October 2021. The couple were aware the property had been used as a German gun emplacement but they always wondered if there may be more hidden below the surface. These sorts of wartime structures were left behind after the German forces occupied the Channel Islands from 1940 until 1945 and, under Adolf Hitler's orders, turned the the islands into an 'impregnable fortress'. It was only when Shaun and Caroline began renovating their front garden that the previous owners of the house got in touch and confirmed their suspicions. After digging up tonnes of dirt, the couple were stunned to discover a large bunker with two large rooms and a hallway. There are even a number of German phrases left on the walls of the base, including one reading 'achtung feind hort mit' - which translates to 'beware, the enemy is listening'. The couple, from Torteval, have since decided to turn the bunker into their own games room complete with a snooker table and a gym. They are hoping to finish painting it in November, but have decided to keep the creepy writing in tact. Shaun said: 'I was born in Guernsey, so I always knew about bunkers, but when Guernsey people came back to Guernsey after the war, they wanted to fill all the bunkers up. 'A lot of people still have bunkers here, but they are down the road and in gardens - not underneath the house! 'You just never knew what state these bunkers are in - where they are, how deep they are - you can't start digging all round just to try and find out. 'We knew the actual foundation of the house had been utilised as a German gun storage - but what we didn't know is if there were any rooms. 'We always thought, 'imagine that!' but we had no factual information around it.' Shaun explained how initially the pair wanted to convert their front garden into a turning point - so they dug it up, and gravelled it over during works. As Shaun works as a carpenter, he made some chopping boards to sell on Facebook marketplace - when the old owner of the house got in touch with him and gave him a tip off about a wartime building lying underneath the property. He said: 'The old owner of the house got in touch with me - as she recognised the very pink kitchen in the photos. She said, oh did you find the rooms below your house! 'I then replied, "oh, so there are rooms!", to which she said, 'yes, we used to play in there when we were kids, my dad filled it in - I know they're at the front of the house. 'It was very interesting - so I then said to my wife, we're going to have to dig up the drive again - a week after putting it down. 'I told my friend about the news, and he thought it sounded ace - so replied, if you get the digger, I'll dig it up!' They ended up digging up 100 tonne of ground and discovering the entrance to the bunker. The bunker consisted of two main rooms measuring 17ft by 10ft and 17ft by 20ft, and a hallway which is 30ft by four ft wide. From ground level to floor level of bunker is 26ft down. Some of the features the family discovered were lots of old bottles, rubble, water, tiled floor, an escape hatch and German writing on the walls. Shaun said: 'You can't really put it into words. It is history and it's good to have but I couldn't have imagined going through that - it really puts you back, especially when you go down. It's cold and damp. 'The people doing it, they didn't have a choice. It's not just rooms for us, it's a part of history.' During the work, the family ended up putting 80 tonnes of concrete in for the walls and steps, and they are still converting the bunker into a games room - fitted with a snooker table and a gym. Shaun added: 'It's not something you find everyday! We are definitely keeping the writing - and might get someone that can calligraphy it back on, otherwise it gets lost. Even the air getting to it has faded it a bit. 'So in that way we can kind of frame it. My wife is not great, she wants the house done - not the bunker! 'But I have promised everyone a halloween party down there for the last three years, so fingers crossed it's happening this year - it's my duty to uphold.' During the Occupation, hundreds of islanders were deported to prisons in Europe and many who remained on the islands nearly starved. Guernsey and Jersey were liberated when occupation ended on 9 May 1945. Sark was liberated a day later, while Alderney, where most of the islanders had been forced to leave their homes, could not return until 15 December 1945. Islanders now celebrate the end of the German occupation with Liberation Day events in Guernsey, Jersey and Sark, along with Homecoming Day in Alderney.
Telegraph
03-08-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Couple find Nazi bunker after digging under their home in Guernsey
A couple have discovered a Nazi bunker underneath their house. Shaun and Carrie Tullier bought their home in Torteval, Guernsey, four years ago and were tipped off by someone who used to live in the house about a wartime building being underneath it. After digging up their driveway, they eventually managed to unearth the bunker and now have plans to turn it into a games room and gym, although they will keep the original features. The bunker dates back to when Hitler's forces occupied the Channel Islands from 1940 until 1945. Speaking to BBC Channel Islands, Mr Tullier said he and his wife had been told about the site being used as a German gun emplacement, but they had a suspicion there was something else there. 'Ground gave way and doorway appeared' He added: 'From the outside, you could tell it was sitting on top of something. We've been doing up the house anyway, so I hired a digger and, with the help of a mate, we started digging up the driveway to see what was there. We kept digging for a while and then finally, the ground just gave way and this doorway appeared.' The bunker consisted of two main rooms, measuring 17ft by 10ft and 17ft by 20ft, and had features including an escape hatch and a tiled floor. There was also German writing on the walls, with phrases which included 'achtung feind hort mit', which translates to 'beware, the enemy is listening'. Dozens of tins and other debris had also been left behind inside the bunker. It is understood that the bunker's entrance was blocked up in the 1960s. Well built structure Mr Tullier said he was impressed with how well built the structure was, adding that the discovery of the bunker had piqued the interest of other people. He said: 'It's not just a games room - people come along and ask to see the history. 'I know it was a bad time for Guernsey [during the Nazi occupation], but I do find the history fascinating and I think we need to keep it so we remember what happened.' He said the structure was generally fairly sound, but said water that had gathered inside over the decades had to be pumped out. On June 15, 1940, Sir Winston Churchill ordered the withdrawal of military personnel from the Channel Islands, abandoning its 94,000 islanders to their fate. Some 25,000 chose to evacuate, but the remainder stayed on the undefended islands. On the evening of June 30, one month after the British evacuation at Dunkirk, German forces seized control. The occupation lasted until May 9 1945, when Guernsey and Jersey were liberated.
BBC News
03-08-2025
- General
- BBC News
'We dug under our home in Guernsey and found a German bunker'
A couple says they have been left gobsmacked after they dug under their house and discovered a Nazi bunker under and Carrie Tullier bought their home in the Torteval area of Guernsey four years ago and knew it had been the site of a World War Two German gun after being tipped off by someone who used to live in the house about a bunker possibly being underneath it, the couple decided to dig up the driveway and eventually managed to unearth the wartime couple said they had plans to turn the bunker into a games room and gym, but were also keen to make sure historic elements remained in place. Germany forces occupied the Channel Islands from 1940 until 1945 and, under Adolf Hitler's orders, turned the the islands into an "impregnable fortress".During the occupation, hundreds of islanders were deported to prisons in Europe and many who remained on the islands nearly occupation lasted until 9 May 1945, when Guernsey and Jersey were liberated. Sark was liberated a day later, while Alderney, where most of the islanders had been forced to leave their homes, could not return until 15 December now celebrate the end of the Nazi occupation with Liberation Day events in Guernsey, Jersey and Sark, along with Homecoming Day in Alderney. Mr Tullier said he and his wife had been told about the site being used as a German gun emplacement, but they had a suspicion there was something else there."From the outside, you could tell it was sitting on top of something," he Tullier added that it was when a previous occupant of the house told them in March 2022 a bunker might be underneath it, he decided it was time to investigate."We've been doing up the house anyway, so I hired a digger and, with the help of a mate, we started digging up the driveway to see what was there," he said."We kept digging down for a while and then finally, the ground just gave way and this doorway appeared." It is believed the bunker's entrance was blocked up in the 1960s and Mr Tullier said he was impressed with how well built the structure bunker consisted of two main rooms measuring 17ft by 10ft (5.18m by 3m) and 17ft by 20ft (5.18, by 6m), with features including a tiled floor, escape hatch and German writing on the the messages on the walls include "achtung feind hort mit" - which translates to "beware, the enemy is listening".The couple also found dozens of tins and other debris which had been left behind inside the bunker. Mr Tullier said one of the main issues which needed sorting out after the bunker was found was pumping water out after it had gathered inside over the decades, but the structure was generally fairly added converting the bunker into a games room - with a snooker table - and gym remained a work in Tullier said the discovery of the bunker had piqued the interest of other people and he felt it was important to keep the German elements said: "It's not just a games room - people come along and ask to see the history."You hear a lot of people say they would just them up these bunkers, but we feel very privileged to have it."I know it was a bad time for Guernsey [during the Nazi occupation], but I do find the history fascinating and I think we need to keep it so we remember what happened."
