Secret Room 2 ....... "Nazi Bunker"
Discussion
Just read the various posts since my last. Some of you are getting close.
To those that are interested...
Consider the background of the German Admiral who was put in charge of the Island in Feb 1945, an Island which was at the time one of the most heavily defended german outposts in Europe.
"The new Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Islands in February 1945, Admiral Friedrich Huffmeier, was a fanatical Nazi. “We shall never surrender,” he told Jersey’s Bailiff Alexander Coutanche. “In the end you and I will be eating grass."Linky
And consider the unnecessary nature of the "raid" as documented, and that it was actually a diversion, whilst an further undocumented part of the Admiral's mission was effected.
To those that are interested...
Consider the background of the German Admiral who was put in charge of the Island in Feb 1945, an Island which was at the time one of the most heavily defended german outposts in Europe.
"The new Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Islands in February 1945, Admiral Friedrich Huffmeier, was a fanatical Nazi. “We shall never surrender,” he told Jersey’s Bailiff Alexander Coutanche. “In the end you and I will be eating grass."Linky
And consider the unnecessary nature of the "raid" as documented, and that it was actually a diversion, whilst an further undocumented part of the Admiral's mission was effected.
A little more on Huffmeier:
Britain under the Jackboot said:
A "very bad" German was Vice Admiral Friedrich Huffmeier, a fanatical Nazi, of gaunt appearance, whose long admiral's greatcoat gave the impression of a shroud. He carried a large, bulging briefcase which somehow added to the sense of macabre. Huffmeier was sent to the islands in the autumn of 1944, officially as Seekommandant, but unofficially as the eyes and ears of Berlin. In February 1945, he replaced yon Schmettow as commander in chief--von Schmettow having been ordered to return to Germany for being "soft" on the islanders. It is said there was a botched plot, apparently involving von Aufsess, to kill him.
A month before the war ended Huffmeier addressed a mass meeting in the Forum cinema, where he explained the importance of defending the Channel Islands. An attack by the British and Americans might at any moment put them in the front line. They must prepare for this hour spiritually and materially; the more desperate the times the more united they must be.
After the death of Hitler, Huffmeier berated the skipper of a Red Cross vessel, which was in port, for not flying his flag at half-mast. Later that day an Allied ship appeared and signalled proposals for surrender. He replied: "Ihr Angeboot ist uberflussig" ("Your request is superfluous", or colloquially, "Get lost"). Huffmeier apparently believed that the islands--being "British"--could be used in bargaining to gain better terms for a defeated Germany.
On 8th May, as Churchill formally announced the surrender of the rest of Germany, a similar demand was put to Huffmeier. His representative, a nervous young naval officer, Armin Zimmerman (who later held senior rank in NATO), kept the rendezvous with the ships HMS Bulldog and HMS Beagle. Taking a deep breath, he told the British he had been authorised to discuss an "armistice", not a "surrender". His hosts replied that it was surrender or nothing. Zimmerman took another deep breath and said his instructions were that the British must withdraw or they would be fired upon.
The two ships retired to a safe distance. That night saner voices pressured Huffmeier to change his mind. The ships returned; Huffmeier threatened to open fire when they arrived before the appointed time. Generalmajor Heine, Huffmeier's deputy, signed the surrender document. Huffmeier could not bring himself to attend. It was left to von Aufsess to announce, at a hastily convened meeting of Channel Island elders: "Der Krieg ist zu Ende, und in den Kanalinseln auch" ("The war is over, and in the Channel Islands too"). Thus it was that the European war ended in the Channel Islands a day later that it ended anywhere else.
HMS Beagle returned on 12th May, and took Huffmeier into formal custody. His last order, which was disobeyed, was that his men should greet the British with Nazi salutes.
linkA month before the war ended Huffmeier addressed a mass meeting in the Forum cinema, where he explained the importance of defending the Channel Islands. An attack by the British and Americans might at any moment put them in the front line. They must prepare for this hour spiritually and materially; the more desperate the times the more united they must be.
After the death of Hitler, Huffmeier berated the skipper of a Red Cross vessel, which was in port, for not flying his flag at half-mast. Later that day an Allied ship appeared and signalled proposals for surrender. He replied: "Ihr Angeboot ist uberflussig" ("Your request is superfluous", or colloquially, "Get lost"). Huffmeier apparently believed that the islands--being "British"--could be used in bargaining to gain better terms for a defeated Germany.
On 8th May, as Churchill formally announced the surrender of the rest of Germany, a similar demand was put to Huffmeier. His representative, a nervous young naval officer, Armin Zimmerman (who later held senior rank in NATO), kept the rendezvous with the ships HMS Bulldog and HMS Beagle. Taking a deep breath, he told the British he had been authorised to discuss an "armistice", not a "surrender". His hosts replied that it was surrender or nothing. Zimmerman took another deep breath and said his instructions were that the British must withdraw or they would be fired upon.
The two ships retired to a safe distance. That night saner voices pressured Huffmeier to change his mind. The ships returned; Huffmeier threatened to open fire when they arrived before the appointed time. Generalmajor Heine, Huffmeier's deputy, signed the surrender document. Huffmeier could not bring himself to attend. It was left to von Aufsess to announce, at a hastily convened meeting of Channel Island elders: "Der Krieg ist zu Ende, und in den Kanalinseln auch" ("The war is over, and in the Channel Islands too"). Thus it was that the European war ended in the Channel Islands a day later that it ended anywhere else.
HMS Beagle returned on 12th May, and took Huffmeier into formal custody. His last order, which was disobeyed, was that his men should greet the British with Nazi salutes.
stifler said:
Am I correct in remembering that your property is on the west of the island ie the other side from France?
My property is in one of the central wooded valleys. All of the german storage tunnels and the underground hospital were built in the valleys because of ease of construction into the valley walls, and ground cover from reconnaisance and attack. shirt said:
did the admiral live or work in your house cy?
No, but Nazi Officers did.shirt said:
i seem to remember early on in the thread that cy mentioned the army had been responsible for covering the tunnels in the first place.
That is one conclusion. I actually have no proof of this though.Edited by CY88 on Thursday 11th June 16:46
Odie said:
Before things started to turn bad for the nazi's did hitler plan on using jersey as his personal base for the invasion of england and america? And as such did the bunker get built in a more secure and comfortable way than the rest? And as such be of significant historical importance?
As the articles I've linked to imply, Hitler became obsessed with the Channel Islands, to the extent that at one stage they outgunned many continental battle arenas. And this was all defence strategy only, as they never saw any real fighting. Some have suggested the fortification was because they were the only piece of Britain that he captured, but after D-Day, with the allies pushing the Nazi's East, you have to wonder what tactical military, or indeed political, advantage the Islands would give unless certain key factors could be introduced (read: shipped in) to the equation.jammy_basturd said:
Just had an epiphany!
Now, we all know from the documentary presented by Harrison Ford, that the Nazis were planning to win the war, and thus take over the world be harnessing the power of the Holy Grail. I propose that the Nazi had indeed managed to win back the Holy Grail from that big building full of crates, and given Hitler's obsession with the island he ordered that it be moved to 88's bunker to be used to reverse the fortunes of the Allied forces marching on!
Now, we all know from the documentary presented by Harrison Ford, that the Nazis were planning to win the war, and thus take over the world be harnessing the power of the Holy Grail. I propose that the Nazi had indeed managed to win back the Holy Grail from that big building full of crates, and given Hitler's obsession with the island he ordered that it be moved to 88's bunker to be used to reverse the fortunes of the Allied forces marching on!
Davi said:
Aowhs102 said:
The suspense is killing me...
going on the time frame from discovery of said hole to now.... if suspense does you no favours I suggest refraining from participation for about 12 months 
What we actually stumbled upon is Hitler's little discussed but highly controversial plan to defeat the allies by "suspense". We are trying to contain the leak as I type Actually, I've been stuck in the office all week and still am.
I've also taken on board some of the comments suggesting that I should gather all the facts together, and then spill the beans all at once. Some people don't seem to like speculation.
mrmaggit said:
No, that is "Son of Bob"
What are you going to do with all the extra space you'll get?
Poor old Bob was taking up a bit of room where he'd been reposing in pieces since splitting last year...What are you going to do with all the extra space you'll get?
So he was scraped up and shipped out...
so in answer to your question Mr Maggit, the extra space is now extra parking, with a 18x10 workshop to be built on one side
fitzykb said:
come on cy Bobs gone but what else is going on let us know please. 
You remember the bit behind the garage... (shown in the background below).
Well we cleared a whole lot more trees all over that last month...
fatboy18 said:
CY, Have you got the heatwave over there we have over here at the moment? Bit hard digging in this weather
A little bit of exploration 
DaveMitsLancer said:
can someone confirm whatever happened to the hatch?
DaveMitsLancer said:
CY88
oh and have you found the lost Amber Room treasure?
It has never been recovered completely!
So i've been told.oh and have you found the lost Amber Room treasure?
It has never been recovered completely!
Plans are afoot gents. Things are just moving slowly.
ETA: I forgot the interesting bit. Last week my neighbour came round and said... "we had such an interesting day yesterday. We came home to find on old chap in his 80s sat on our doorstep". Turns out he was a child who had lived in the neighbours house during the war, left behind when his family evacuated, and was over in the Island on holiday last week and wanted to see it again!!!! And I missed him!!!!!
I am going to get his number and get in touch to see what he remembers about my place. Apparently there were 35 German soldiers billeted in the neighbours house.Edited by CY88 on Wednesday 15th July 23:02
Edited by CY88 on Thursday 16th July 20:52
angryS3owner said:
I'm sure you'll get to it in due course, but does that mean you've covered up the entrance to the 'bunker' again with the new parking or am I missing something?
Nope, the entrance is still there. The parking area was where we stored all the rubble and practiced using the digger. That part of the update was aimed at Mr Maggit who came to see the site last year.The bus is a '67 splitscreen, formerly out of California, which I purchased through Pistonheads classifieds. Its pretty much original spec at the moment with a Westfalia interior and little pop-top. Coincidentally the clutch is slowly going, and seeing as the engine will be coming out when that gets changed, it would indeed be rude not to upgrade it as suggested above At the moment its the original 1500cc.
A few little diversions .... and thanks for the comments
At the moment its the original 1500cc.A few little diversions
.... and thanks for the commentsEdited by CY88 on Thursday 16th July 21:15
Right, my friend's house is not near mine (several miles away). But it is in an elevated position and a likely setting for a defensive battery.
The way in which he was alerted to the possibility that there was something in his garden was much the same as mine, an old gardener gave him the tip-off.
Got another pic he's sent. Hoping to get up there and see for myself.
As far as my tunnel is concerned, I've spent the last year waiting for Planning to approve an extension at my house. The majority of the to-ing and fro-ing is now almost done, and I am at the moment liasing with an engineer about the groundworks for what has been aproved so far, which will entail some excavation in another location for foundation work. As the Planning Dept has already confirmed that I can excavate all the rocks that were collapsed over the entrance of the tunnel, and I am planning on doing that at the same time as these groundworks (cost, disruption etc). Unfortunately, at the rate things are going, I don't think that this is likely to happen until later in the year
Oh, and MrMaggit! Get that thread running now. And we need pictures, please! Lie of the land and all that, local history too. Did the nazis make it to Blighty or was it Dad's army? Get digging man! Don't wait 3 weeks. Ahhh, its nice to be on the "other side" for a change
And finally, a question to Uncle Fester & other PH WW2 sleuths.... what do you know about "liquid air"?
The way in which he was alerted to the possibility that there was something in his garden was much the same as mine, an old gardener gave him the tip-off.
Got another pic he's sent. Hoping to get up there and see for myself.
As far as my tunnel is concerned, I've spent the last year waiting for Planning to approve an extension at my house. The majority of the to-ing and fro-ing is now almost done, and I am at the moment liasing with an engineer about the groundworks for what has been aproved so far, which will entail some excavation in another location for foundation work. As the Planning Dept has already confirmed that I can excavate all the rocks that were collapsed over the entrance of the tunnel, and I am planning on doing that at the same time as these groundworks (cost, disruption etc). Unfortunately, at the rate things are going, I don't think that this is likely to happen until later in the year
Oh, and MrMaggit! Get that thread running now. And we need pictures, please! Lie of the land and all that, local history too. Did the nazis make it to Blighty or was it Dad's army? Get digging man! Don't wait 3 weeks. Ahhh, its nice to be on the "other side" for a change
And finally, a question to Uncle Fester & other PH WW2 sleuths.... what do you know about "liquid air"?
Uncle Fester said:
CY88, why did you ask about project Hexenkessel?
Until your post, I didn't realise that i had. Apologies for being cryptic for the moment.@DaveML: I don't know exactly why the RAF photographed my house other than they took shots which were significant to their intelligence gathering.
In relation to the other chambers, we are going to dig those out at the same time as the planned building work.
Just a little update as I know people sometimes check back. I'm sorry to say nothing has been happening in my bunker. Summer holidays and the death of a friend have all recently taken up my time.
I have been writing some stuff up by way of record / research. I've been told that there may well be a marketable story here and that's why I've been withholding information of late.
But, instead, here's some more photos from my friend that I mentioned a few pages ago, the one who's also been digging in his flower beds:
Seems that they didn't really have to dig down that far... and note work boots and not sandals.
Something I haven't got... ready made steps....
He also sensibly hired some lighting. No light on a stick here!
Naturally, send the kids down first...
And hey presto ... those pesky nazis and their subterranean architecture!
And how jealous am i of concrete walls??
I have been writing some stuff up by way of record / research. I've been told that there may well be a marketable story here and that's why I've been withholding information of late.
But, instead, here's some more photos from my friend that I mentioned a few pages ago, the one who's also been digging in his flower beds:
Seems that they didn't really have to dig down that far... and note work boots and not sandals.
Something I haven't got... ready made steps....
He also sensibly hired some lighting. No light on a stick here!
Naturally, send the kids down first...
And hey presto ... those pesky nazis and their subterranean architecture!
And how jealous am i of concrete walls??
My friends house is a couple of miles from me, and is ontop of a hill over looking a beach. Uncle Fester is right, it was definitely a defensive position. Records suggest that there were several artillery nests and a munitions store at that location. He only dug it when, like me, he was told by his gardener that there was a bunker on the site. He too resorted to old photographs to pinpoint the likely entrance.
Looking back out up the steps
A room off the corridor with what looks like the rotten remains of bunks
That one also seems to have a further doorway which is collapsed / blocked.
Further inside
Another room with a water ingress on the floor
Sealed hatch?
And another semi-sealed room containing rubble behind. He has already knocked down that bit of concrete holding the spoil back and started removing it.
Interesting comments in your post Uncle Fester. THe airport is on the other side of the island, but distance is relative. My location was definitely luftwaffe occupied. I shall see whether there are records about the runway.
Looking back out up the steps
A room off the corridor with what looks like the rotten remains of bunks
That one also seems to have a further doorway which is collapsed / blocked.
Further inside
Another room with a water ingress on the floor
Sealed hatch?
And another semi-sealed room containing rubble behind. He has already knocked down that bit of concrete holding the spoil back and started removing it.
Interesting comments in your post Uncle Fester. THe airport is on the other side of the island, but distance is relative. My location was definitely luftwaffe occupied. I shall see whether there are records about the runway.
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