Fort Hommet bunker opens with a bang
EXCITEMENT spread across Fort Hommet as the M19 automatic mortar bunker was officially opened with the firing of the gun for the first time on Saturday.
The fort’s history was unveiled to the public as Festung Guernsey showcased its work and restorations, including the M19 which it has been working on.
The organisation began excavating the bunker below the car park in 2010 and a gentle slope was formed to the entrance.
The gun has been reconstructed mainly using salvaged parts and is one of a few originals left along the Atlantic Wall.
‘We’ve been working on the bunker for a number of years but there’s been a lot of red tape to go through. We’ve worked with agencies to get it right and it takes a while, but there’s been a lot of work done recently,’ said Festung member Ben Drew.
‘The gun has the technology that they use for re-enactments and this is the official opening.
‘People will hear a loud bang and see some flames coming out of the top, but it’ll be nice to see all of the work we’ve put into it.’
The fort is also thought to have been used as a quarantine hospital for patients with Spanish flu and local history organisations are hoping to find out more information.
Caitlyn Le Patourel was dressed as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse.
‘We’ve had some evidence that the fort was used as a quarantine hospital so we’re hoping that by having this here that people will come forward with any information they might know about that,’ she said.
‘We’ve got some examples of the medical equipment that would have been used to help nurses treat people and I’m trying to represent the women in the war as so often they get forgotten.
‘I’ve been involved in this for a few years now and we’re pushing more for the women’s history side of things.’
Among the bunkers also open at Fort Hommet was the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, created by Hubert Le Galloudec in the 1960s from sea shells.
It was closed following vandalism in the early 1970s but it was restored by volunteers and reopened to the public in 2008.
There is still some work on the walls that has never been finished, but the organisation’s aim is not to change Mr Le Galloudec’s work but to restore and preserve it.
‘It’s been really busy for us and that’s definitely been helped by the weather and people are interested in the shrine,’ said volunteer Andy Walker.
‘We’ve also got the military vehicles here which attracts people and the Guernsey Military History Group in costume.’
A 5cm PAK 38, received on loan from the Guernsey Occupation Museum, has not been in position at the fort in many years, but the occupying forces had written down the type and location of its use.
