A Visit to The German Underground Hospital in Guernsey

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1 year ago
"Hauptverbandplatz" which translates to Casualty Clearing Post or Advanced Dressing Station. A word I can barely pronounce. 😂 This is my Friend Ermy at the entrance of the German Underground Hospital.

Hello readers! Today, I am going to be showing you around Guernsey's German Underground Hospital. I was hesitant to enter it at first as a lot of people had told me that the place give them the creeps. And being a nurse, I don't really want to associate anything supernatural or scary to hospitals. But let's just say, my curiosity got the better of me so I went there for a visit with my friend, Ermy.

Old nursing uniform. To this day nurses don't wear caps anymore as they are now considered as an infection control risk. But I did remember wearing them as a nursing student. It brings back some nostalgia.
Old tinned goods and hospital supplies.
Military Medic in uniform.

Now here's a little side bit of history, since this is a place of historical importance after all. During most of World War II, the Channel Islands had been occupied by Nazi Germany up until it's liberation day on the 9th of May 1945. During the occupation, a lot of German structures were erected in Guernsey and the largest of them all is the German Underground Hospital which is almost 7,000 square metres of maze tunnels!

Gas masks and other equipments.
Some military weapons back in the days.

This hospital was used by the German troops between 1940 to 1945. Initially, it was built as an ammunition store for machine guns but around 1944 it was decided to turn it into a hospital. The hospital is built under a small hill in the heart of Guernsey countryside in the Parish of St. Andrew which makes it almost invisible from the surface, apart from its entrances. It became possible through efforts of forced workers and builders and some of them even perished during the building process.

In memory of the slave workers who died in Guernsey.
The Blockhouse is a 1973 D-Day film shot on Guernsey and some scenes were at this hospital.
The wards felt a bit eerie.
I do feel like the beds were quite small. Even for a small Filipino like me. It makes me wonder if people back then were short.
Ermy walking the tunnels.

The current admission fee for the year 2022 are as follows: adult £4.50; child under 15 y.o. £2.50; infant under 2 y.o. free entry. The hospital is open daily from 10 AM to 4PM. According to the lady issuing our tickets, one can even make arrangements to sleep overnight or visit the hospital at night time specially during Halloween time. The hospital can also serve as venues for special events and was known to have been transformed as a fashion shows stage, photography gallery, and also a musical theatre stage.

Me walking the tunnels.
Felt like a cast of a horror movie.

If you're a history fan or mainly looking for some spook, then the German Underground Hospital is definitely a place to visit. I must admit the place did give me the creeps too but it may just be because it is quite chilly inside the tunnels. I enjoyed my visit as it is interesting for me to see how healthcare has evolved from then till now. And I think we are quite lucky to be in this generation and to be enjoying a better healthcare situation. It may not be perfect yet, but it did come a long way and the conditions are a lot better. Anyhow that concludes this tour. I hope you enjoyed this!

Horse drawn wagon.
Horse drawn artillery limber.
Large horse drawn field kitchen.


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Comments

woah... I guess walay in ani sa pinas noh? underground hospital.. even its name freaks me out! hehe those tunnels.. as if anytime a zombie can come out!

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1 year ago

Lagi it is a good place to hunt ghosts I think. Hahaha. Walay ngani sa Pinas but we have Underwater Cemeteries man pud.

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1 year ago

Interesting to see that countries are making hospital underground so that you can save place for Farmer but in the tunnel its looks like a horror movie seen

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1 year ago

It really does look like a horror movie because it wasn't intended to be a hospital in the first place.

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1 year ago

This really looks quite scary my dear friend. Its like watching a horror movie especially the tunnels. Are patients still visiting this hospital.

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1 year ago

It's now turned into a museum/historical site for tourist. Guernsey has only one functional hospital which they call the Princess Elizabeth Hospital.

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1 year ago

Oh..good to hear that.

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1 year ago

Interesting read especially it is a place underground. Would love to know the creepy stories other folks could tell. How big is it?

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1 year ago

It is 75,000 sq feet or 6950 sq metres big. So quite a lot of the builders passed when making this hospital due to the rockslide.

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1 year ago

Yes you're right friend it looks creepy. Ngayon ko lang nalaman na Filipino ka pala friend. Same tayo. Nasa labas ka pala friend.

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1 year ago

Uu proud Pinoy! Nasa UK ako for now friend.

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1 year ago

Wow one of my bucketlist yang UK sis.

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1 year ago