Guernsey Press

Festung explores L’Ancresse bunker closed decades ago

SECOND WORLD WAR enthusiasts have been surprised and thrilled by the inside of a bunker, which has not been opened in more than 40 years.

Published
Festung Guernsey spent New Year’s Day exploring the Wn.Dohlenturm bunker, at the eastern end of L’Ancresse. The fortification has been closed off for more than 40 years. Many of the stencils have survived, including the one above left, which says ‘warning, the enemy is listening!’ Steve Powell, who was first into the bunker, took the pictures.

The structure at L’Ancresse will be very familiar to beach-goers, as the front can be seen built in the bank at the east of the beach.

But the entrance was blocked before 1964 and the hole onto the beach was blocked in the 1970s.

With permission of the Vale Commons Council, 10 volunteers from Festung Guernsey cleared the scrub around the entrance and ventured in on New Year’s Day.