Guernsey, 3rd Day, the German Underground Hospital
After visiting the quarry at Les Vardes, we had some lunch and then headed out to The German Underground Hospital in the St Andrews' area of Guernsey.
It was a dank afternoon and this giant system of tunnels certainly suited the mood. The nearly 7,000 square metres of underground chambers were dug out using slave labour between 1942 and 1943, originally for a machine gun company and then as an ammunition store. In 1944 part of the complex was converted to a military hospital and used for German soldiers injured at D-Day. However the damp moist air of the tunnels was not conducive to a fast recovery and the invasion of Guernsey by the allies after D-Day did not take place, so the hospital was decommissioned.
The tunnels are mainly bare, damp and cold. It is certainly an eerie place and I would not like to have to spend a night there. In fact you have to show your tickets again as you go out to ensure that does not happen. Sounds are magnified and hollow. I have posted a link to a YouTube video at the end which I made, just for the strange noises.
Please excuse the large number of pictures, I found the place very atmospheric. This mood was continued in the car park where there were a couple of abandoned rotting cars and a rather decrepit looking bungalow.
Above is the YouTube link
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