When Shaun Tullier and his wife Caroline bought their slightly rundown Guernsey home five years ago, they expected dust, delays and the usual renovation headaches. What they didn’t expect, however, was a World War Two Nazi bunker buried 26 feet beneath their feet. The discovery turned a routine project into something closer to a history documentary, complete with eerie German warnings still scrawled across the walls. So a disturbing history documentary, then. (Picture: Shaun Tullier / SWNS)
The couple moved into the property in Torteval back in October 2021, knowing that the land had been used to some extent during the German occupation back in the 1940s. Shaun, 35, was aware the foundations once served as a gun storage area. Still, there was always a lingering sense something more might be hiding below. He and Caroline, 32, just didn’t know how much more. Turns out? It was quite a lot…(Picture: Shaun Tullier / SWNS)
Guernsey was heavily fortified during World War II after Nazi forces occupied The Channel Islands from 1940 to 1945. Under Adolf Hitler’s direct orders, the islands were turned into what was meant to be an ‘impregnable fortress’. Concrete bunkers were put up everywhere, though most were sealed up once the Allied forces defeated Hitler and the war ended. (Picture: Shaun Tullier / SWNS)
Shaun grew up on the island and says that these bunkers were always part of the landscape of the island. ‘I was born in Guernsey, so I always knew about bunkers, but when Guernsey people came back to Guernsey after the war, they wanted to fill all the bunkers up,’ he explained. Most survived in fields or gardens. Not directly under living rooms. (Picture: Shaun Tullier / SWNS)
The first real clue arrived in something of an unlikely way. Shaun had been selling handmade chopping boards on Facebook Marketplace when a former owner of the house spotted the listing photos. She recognised the kitchen immediately and sent a message that changed everything. ‘She said, “oh did you find the rooms below your house!”’ Shaun recalled. (Picture: Shaun Tullier / SWNS)
That casual message confirmed years of suspicion. ‘I then replied, “Oh, so there are rooms!”, to which she said, “Yes, we used to play in there when we were kids, my dad filled it in – I know they’re at the front of the house.”’ Suddenly, the front garden didn’t look so ordinary anymore. (Picture: Shaun Tullier / SWNS)
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At the time, the couple had not long finished resurfacing their new driveway. Gravel was down, the job was done and tools were packed away. Then Shaun delivered the news to his wife that everything needed digging up again, barely a week after it had been finished. It wasn’t ideal timing, but he knew he couldn’t exactly ignore the Nazi bunker underneath them. (Picture: Shaun Tullier / SWNS)
A pal’s enthusiasm helped push the project forward. ‘I told my friend about the news, and he thought it sounded ace – so replied, “If you get the digger, I’ll dig it up!”‘ That decision led to the removal of more than 100 tonnes of earth and the moment the entrance to the bunker finally appeared. (Picture: Shaun Tullier / SWNS)
What emerged was far bigger than anyone had realistically expected. The bunker contains two main rooms measuring 17ft by 10ft and 17ft by 20ft, linked by a narrow hallway stretching 30ft long. From ground level, the floor sits an astonishing 26ft down, preserved like a time capsule beneath the house. (Picture: Shaun Tullier / SWNS)
Inside, the family found old bottles, rubble, pooled water, tiled flooring and even an escape hatch. Most striking of all was the German writing on the walls. One phrase reads ‘achtung feind hort mit’, meaning ‘beware, the enemy is listening’. (Picture: Shaun Tullier / SWNS)
Shaun described the discovery as ‘completely wild’. ‘You can’t really put it into words,’ he said. ‘It is history and it’s good to have but I couldn’t have imagined going through that – it really puts you back, especially when you go down.’ (Picture: Shaun Tullier / SWNS)
At the moment it’s not exactly a fun place to hang out. ‘It’s cold and damp,’ Shaun added. ‘The people doing it, they didn’t have a choice. It’s not just rooms for us, it’s a part of history.’ While Shaun is excited, Caroline is less enchanted by it all. ‘My wife is not great with it, she wants the house done – not the bunker!’ he joked. Still, there’s a deadline looming. ‘I have promised everyone a Halloween party down there for the last three years, so fingers crossed it’s happening this year – it’s my duty to uphold.’ (Picture: Shaun Tullier / SWNS)
Stabilising the bunker became a major project in itself. The family poured 80 tonnes of concrete into walls and steps to make the space safe. They’re now converting it into a games room, complete with a snooker table and gym, blending modern comfort with wartime relics. (Picture: Shaun Tullier / SWNS)
The German writing will stay. ‘We are definitely keeping the writing – and might get someone that can calligraphy it back on, otherwise it gets lost,’ Shaun said. ‘Even the air getting to it has faded it a bit.’ Preserving it matters to Shaun, even if it complicates the project a fair bit.(Picture: Shaun Tullier / SWNS)
The bunker is also a stark reminder of the darker history of The Channel Islands. During the Nazi occupation, hundreds of islanders were deported to European prisons, and many who stayed behind nearly starved to death. Liberation finally came in May 1945, now marked by annual Liberation Day events across the islands. (Picture: Shaun Tullier / SWNS)Add as preferred source