Festung brought in to examine Occupation building

Work is under way at La Vigne, off Guelles Road, St Peter Port, to build eight flats and five dwellings.

In the south-east corner of the site is a German bunker, as well as what was thought to be an old stable block.

Infinity Group, which is undertaking the development, invited Festung Guernsey to the site at the weekend to examine the structures and make surveys.

While the bunker will be kept – an unusual feature in the back garden of one of the new homes – the stable block will be cleared.

Festung Guernsey project co-ordinator Steve Powell said it was very grateful to the developer for inviting members to have a look and said hoped other developers would think to invite them.

‘We know we can’t save every structure,’ he said. ‘But as long as we can view and record them, then at least we will have a record for future generations.’

The bunker was last examined in the late 1990s, but the stable block was so overgrown it had not been checked.

Mr Powell said once they managed to get inside, it was clear that the structure could not have been used for horses due to the way it was laid out.

‘We now think it was a workshop. There is not a great deal of evidence of what it was used for.

‘But we quickly realised it was not possible to have been a stable, as you could not get horses into that part of the building. It would make sense to be more engineering related.’

During the war the area was quite busy with German activity.

The attractive town houses nearby were often requisitioned by the German forces because they were convenient for nearby fortifications, such as the communications bunker at Beau Sejour.

It is believed the bunker in the grounds of La Vigne was a reinforced field order air raid or personnel shelter.

The construction was completed by late 1943 and used by 319 Engineer Battalion HQ.

The interior is basic, with one of the rooms being lined in timber panelling. Behind this panelling was a pencil drawing of a German soldier.