Guernsey Couple Uncovers WWII Nazi Bunker Beneath Home

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A couple in Guernsey stumbled upon a striking piece of wartime history beneath their home, an intact Nazi-era bunker, hidden for decades beneath layers of soil and secrecy.

Shaun Tullier, 35, and his wife Caroline, 32, moved into their property in Torteval in October 2021, unaware of what lay below. While carrying out routine renovation work, the pair discovered a concealed bunker featuring two substantial chambers and a corridor, still bearing chilling remnants of the past, including German warnings scrawled on the walls such as “Achtung Feind hört mit” (“Beware, the enemy is listening”).

The Channel Islands, the only part of the British Isles to be occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II, were heavily fortified under Adolf Hitler’s orders. Between 1940 and 1945, Guernsey was transformed into what the Nazi regime believed would be an “impregnable fortress.”

Shaun, a local carpenter, said he always knew the area was once used for military purposes. “I was born in Guernsey, so I always knew about the bunkers. But most are down the road or in the garden, not underneath your house,” he said.

The couple initially suspected the foundations had once served as a gun emplacement. But confirmation only came after Shaun posted a photo of his kitchen online, prompting the property’s former owner to get in touch.

“She recognised the pink kitchen in the pictures and asked if we’d found the rooms below,” he explained. “I replied, ‘So there are rooms,’ and she told me they used to play in them as kids. Her father had filled them in. She was certain they were right under the front of the house.”

Spurred on by this revelation, Shaun and a friend set to work just one week after finishing landscaping the driveway. The team excavated over 100 tonnes of soil before finally revealing the hidden bunker, 26 feet below ground.

Inside, they found a remarkable structure: two rooms measuring 17ft by 10ft and 17ft by 20ft respectively, joined by a narrow hallway. The space still held discarded bottles, rubble, water, original tiles, and even an escape hatch. “You can’t put it into words,” Shaun said. “It puts you back, especially when you go down. It’s cold and damp. It’s not just rooms for u, it’s a part of history.”

Now, the couple are turning the space into a family-friendly games room and gym while carefully preserving the bunker’s historic features. Over 80 tonnes of concrete have already been laid for reinforcements, with plans to complete flooring and decoration by November.

“The writing will stay,” Shaun confirmed. “We might have someone touch it up in calligraphy to preserve it. Even the air has caused some fading.”

Despite his wife’s preference for finishing their home’s interior first, Shaun is determined to make the most of the unique find. “I’ve promised everyone a Halloween party down there for the last three years, so it’s happening. I must uphold!”

During the war, the Nazi regime’s rule over the Channel Islands was marked by hardship. Many locals were deported to European prisons, while those who stayed behind faced food shortages and suppression. Liberation came on 9 May 1945, now commemorated annually as Liberation Day across Guernsey, Jersey, and Sark.

While the UK continues to grapple with preserving heritage sites, particularly under a government distracted by other priorities, it’s individuals like Shaun and Caroline who are ensuring that vital pieces of British history aren’t lost to time.