Guernsey German Military Hospital |
Guernsey Military Hospital Forced Labourers. |
Guernsey Military Hospital Tunnels under construction |
The tunnels cover an are of 7,000 sq meters and took 3 1/2 years to construct. The underground facility was split into two sections, a hospital and ammunition store.
German Military Hospital - Ground Plan Hospital and Ammunition Store |
German Military Hospital Entrance |
The hospital comprised of two main corridors running parallel with each other . Between the corridors were the medical facilities; wards, operating theatre, x-ray room, laboratory, dispensary and staff quarters. Running off one corridor were a cinema, store rooms, and a mortuary. At the end of the corridors were power plants and kitchens.
German Military Hospital Hospital Section Plan |
Guernsey Military Hospital Entrance to Military Section |
Guernsey Military Hospital Hospital Corridor |
Guernsey Military Hospital Hospital Ward |
Guernsey Military Hospital Hospital Ward |
Guernsey Military Hospital Escape Shaft |
The ammunition store occupied the second part of the underground complex. During the occupation thousands of tons of ammunition was stored there.
Guernsey Military Hospital Ammunition Storage |
Guernsey Military Hospital Ammunition Store signage |
The hospital was only used for a period of three months following the Allied landings in Normandy 6th June 1944. Several hundred wounded soldiers were brought by ship from Cherbourg to Guernsey. The hospital was not beneficial to the casualties, after a few weeks the patients were white from lack of sunlight and the damp conditions did not aid recovery. They were transferred above ground.
Today the empty dank cavern is a depressing reminder of those who laboured 3 1/2 years in atrocious conditions to build a facility that was no real use.
Guernsey Military Hospital Dark, Damp, Depressing |
Guernsey Military Hospital Memorial to Forced Labour Workers |