Jersey War Tunnels


Useful Information

Location: Les Charrières Malorey, St Lawrence, Jersey JE3 1FU.
Meadowbank valley, Parish of St Lawrence, Jersey.
(49.210360, -2.154020)
Open: Mid-MAR to OCT daily 10-17, last entry 15:30.
[2023]
Fee: Adults GBP 17, Children (5-15) GBP 11, Children (0-4) free, Seniors (65+) GBP 16, Students GBP 16.
[2023]
Classification: SubterraneaWorld War II Bunkers TopicAtlantikwall
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension: L=1,000 m, T=17 °C.
Guided tours: self guided
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:
Address: Jersey War Tunnels, Les Charrières Malorey, St Lawrence, Jersey JE3 1FU, Tel: +44-1534-860808. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1940 Jersey occupied by the German Wehrmacht.
21-OCT-1941 start of construction at the Cap Verde entrance.
1942 excavation started at the Meadowbank entrance by the contracting firm of Gremmich.
1943 Ho8 converted into a casualty clearing station and emergency hospital.
1944 bunker completed.
JUL-1946 opened to the public.
1961 Ho8 get private property.
2001 permanent exhibit called "Captive Island" unveiled.

Description

The Jersey War Tunnels are the commercial name of the Hohlgangsanlage 8 or abbreviated Ho8. Adolf Hitler ordered the islands to be transformed into an impregnable fortress in 1941. Originally the bunker was built as bombproof barracks, store and workshop to service heavy weapons. Ho8 was built underground by forced labourers from all over the world, provided by the the Organisation Todt. 43,000 tons of rock were removed and the space lined with 6,000 tons of concrete.

The installation was converted into a hospital in late 1943, when the threat of an Allied invasion of Europe became imminent. It became a casualty clearing station and emergency hospital, equipped with wards for 500 patients, but in an emergency it could house up to 1,000 patients. There was a fully equipped operating theatre. It had staff quarters, kitchen, and a cinema. A full heating and air conditioning system was installed, unfinished tunnels were sealed off, and a system of gas-proof doors was installed.

This site was the first bunker museum on the Channel Islands, the tunnels were opened to the public in July 1946 by the States of Jersey. In 1961, the Royal Court ruled that the subterranean complex belonged to the private owners of the land above it. The new owners realized the financial possibilities and restored the complex and created a museum inside. The main topic was the German Underground Hospital, and it became well known under this name. But it was not only the first, it was also the most touristy and the most expensive World War II museum on the Channel Islands. It was renovated and extended various times, and at some point they renamed it Jersey War Tunnels, because the hospital is today only a small part of the exhibitions. There is a collection of occupation memorabilia, an exhibition about life under occupation, military vehicles such as a Char B1 bis tank and a replica Stug III. Numerous exhibitions about World War II, historic items, photographs and documents are completed by art exhibitions.

After the name German Underground Hospital was not used anymore, a similar underground hospital on Guernsey reused the name. This was a small private museum and much less focussed on profit, but has grown considerably. Nevertheless, we think it was a pretty bad idea to reuse the name, and it obviously causes confusion. One page we linked below is titled "German Underground Hospital" but actually describes this site. Another page still has the old name in the URL while the heading was updated.