Islanders seize rare chance to see inside Guernsey’s biggest military site

Mirus Battery site one is privately owned but managed by the local military enthusiast group Festung Guernsey, which only opens it once a year.

Festung Guernsey secretary Steve Powell said islanders had leapt at the chance to explore the St Saviour’s site, with about 100 people turning up inside the first 40 minutes.

‘It’s a good opportunity for people to see what work we have done – for most people it is their first time here,’ he said.

The site is large, with a huge gun pit and a neighbouring warren of 19 rooms. Festung had installed signage to help people not to get lost.

‘As far as we can tell, it’s one of the largest military sites in the Channel Islands,’ Mr Powell said.

Recent work has included improving the electrics on the site, with blue lights installed around the inside of the gun pit. Mr Powell said this was the same as it would have been there during the war, as the colour of the lights would make the site less visible from the air.

‘We are just starting work on the crew rooms so they will look as they would have looked during the war, with bunks and wardrobes,’ Mr Powell said.

But on top of the new projects, he said the basic maintenance of such a large site was also quite a big task.

Among the people exploring the site was Steve Ozanne and his family. He said the last time he would have seen the site was when he was a child and exploring it with a torch.

‘It’s great to see it all lit up,’ he said.

‘This is something special about Guernsey – it’s part of our history. It’s good they are restoring it – they are doing a good job.’

The open day also attracted visitors.

Kimberlee Auletta from New York was making a three-day visit to the island before travelling to see the Normandy beaches.

She heard about the open day when visiting the German Underground Hospital and said it was really fortunate it fell on one of the days of their trip.

‘The volunteers are great and their knowledge is so extensive,’ she said.

‘It makes it all come to life and you can get a sense of what it was like.’

The site is one of four which form the Mirus Battery – all of which are privately owned. They once housed huge naval guns, which could fire nearly as far as Jersey during the war.

Festung started working on the site more than a decade ago.

Entry to the site on the open day was free, but visitors were encouraged to make donations to support the group’s work.

Mr Powell said Festung Guernsey currently has a team of 10 dedicated volunteers, but it would be great to have more people involved.

Anyone interested in finding out more can contact the group through its Facebook page.