Nazi bunker in my garden......

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by b0dyr0ck2006, Mar 1, 2012.

  1.  
  2. With the mini-hammer retired, diggerman got back to work...


    [​IMG]


    Dave phoned at this point from the airport to ask about the Boulder. Rather than spoil his holiday, I lied that it was tucked up safe near the lawn and that would be there for him on his return.Richard spotting for today.


    [​IMG]


    Pete the tractorman standing well back


    [​IMG]


    A moment after this picture, Richard shouts at diggerman to stop....


    [​IMG]


    He's noticed a cavity opening up somewhere we weren't expecting.....In front of the tunnel entrance, under where the Boulder was keeping sentinel, we encounter a second obstacle!!!!!!! Richard tentatively investigates


    [​IMG]


    It appears that the path of the digger is now blocked by a second new undergrown chamber, this time full of what appears to be water. A grapefruit sized boulder topples into the hole with a worryingly deep "Plop".


    [​IMG]


    We set about debating what we've stumbled on now!


    [​IMG]
     
  3. At this point I must admit I was slightly downheartened. Having destroyed the boulder in order to crack on, the thought of having broken into an old septic tank or the drains was sickening.However, after prodding around inside the not-so-smelly-at-all water with a long stick, we found that the chamber was only about 4ft square. Looking at the old photos, and knowing where the house drains were, we decided that what we had inadvertently broken into was most probably a water tank for the tunnel, which would have allowed a tap to be located at the entrance - well, sounded sensible to us. Diggerman said "lets cover it up and press on" and we agreed, noted where to avoid any digging for the rest of the day.


    [​IMG]


    The whole of the area around the entrance is full of broken rocks that had fallen from the quarry overhead. Diggermen drove in to push a few to the back


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    Now we can start going down
     
  4. we had such big plans for when we finally had enough room to get in....

    some of its on video....

    but ultimately it all boiled down to who was in the right place at the right time... namely who was nearest the door

    forget masks and whips!

    Richard and Pete just happened to be nearest............ and we couldn't hold them back

    [​IMG]
     
  5. Remember the breeze block / white thing on the floor in the very first picture? - this is it....


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    Point of entry
    [​IMG]


    looking back at the door from further in...
    [​IMG]


    Old lighting
    [​IMG]


    and rudimentary wiring
    [​IMG]
     
  6.  
  7. [​IMG]

    This seems to have "cast" bumps on it?
    [​IMG]

    Peter gives the floor a thud - we can't be sure, but sounds like a lid?
    [​IMG]

    We start clearing the sand to see if we can find the lip ?
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    At this point we decide that we're getting a bit carried away, and that we should perhaps check the length of the tunnel first before ripping into things. Plus the floor would be easier to check later when a bit cleaner and not in such excitement (after all, its not like someone's going to tell me clear off for trespassing)

    No idea what this is / was?

    [​IMG]

    Padlock still on door
    [​IMG]
     
  8. The remains of a wooden door...
    [​IMG]

    The lightswitch...
    [​IMG]

    any ideas..?
    [​IMG]

    floor rail?
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    old tins
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    someone on here said this was a beehive?!
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    plus, Bob (at a secret location this morning)
    [​IMG]
     
  9. Some people have asked why I have delayed and not just got on and dug it out / explored it fully.


    When you sit back for a moment and think about this it's obvious.....


    (1) I have a full time job in the week and a family (believe me I've had a few ear bendings this weekend!)


    (2) This thing is on my doorstep in real life. I'm not going to rush into doing anything because its just not necessary, mainly because ...


    (3) this is pretty serious stuff. As I explained in a post above, I've been advised that further landscaping (including digging out the door a bit more) may seriously undermine a bank of rock above it containing near on 500 tons if not more of loose stones, together with fully grown trees. Even the access we have made is admittedly a little dangerous, and now the digger has left the site again, we haven't gone in without someone being on hand on the outside in case of emergencies. (If I get time, I'll try to do the sketch plan that some people have suggested). There is a distinct possiblilty that I may well clear more of the rocks to make the tunnel usuable again :rubs hands together:, but in the first instance I really need to decide whether I want to commit to doing that straight away (and what I want to use it for) because of...


    (4) the cost. While Dave gives his invaluable time and expertise for free, the medium size digger, the large tractor / specialist trailer (to fit in my driveway instead of a dump truck), the minihammer drill head obtained at short notice and the man hours of the operators all cost hard cash! The removal of the tonnage of loose rock will cost more! and the making good of the tunnel will cost extra!! These are all decisions that I'm not going to rush


    (5)Bob the Boulder. Several people have questioned why I didn't try to move the boulder? I really did want to save it I would quite happily have invited anyone to try any of the removal methods suggested, as we did ourselves. They may well have worked in a quarry / site with lots of space, but this was happening in the confined space of my yard at home on relatively soft tarmac. The fact was it wouldn't budge within those parameters.


    Believe me I remain extremely excited. I'm also keen to involve Dave again, who was disappointed to have had to leave on his trip at the crucial moment. The floor will wait until he's back.


    I believe there is some more video footage that was taken at the weekend that I will try to upload.
     
  10. Somebody asked him if anything other than the mystery of the lightswitch at the far end of the tunnel and something under the floor is yet unexplored or are we finished here?

    Aside from the above, ...now you come to mention it..... (and I promised Dave I'd wait for his return)

    [​IMG]

    (a teaser for the eagle-eyed)
     
  11. The tunnel was definitely built during WW2, by the Germans. You will see from the aerial photo that there was also a large storage shed on the property. This was pulled down after the war.

    Regarding the concrete structure that is shown peeking from behind the garage, I don't know what that is. I uncovered it by cutting back the undergrowth that was obscuring it. It may be totally unrelated? It comes out from the quarry face. The garage was apparently built after the war, but it is right almost flush against to the concrete structure.

    There's a gap that can be seen in the photo - maybe enough for a light on a stick

    [hr]



    [dutch accent on] shhtopp! this thread iz not finished yet [accent off]

    UPDATE: I have been in the tunnel for the last hour or so with some seasoned bunker explorers who I invited over to have a look.We did a thorough search through just the stuff on the floor to start, during which we found some guns! Yup, weapons!! They are quite badly corroded, which probably explains why I missed them, but I will upload some photos for you in a moment.[as you were]
     
  12. Right, I took up the offer of assistance from two seasoned bunker explorers. They came round tonight and seemed quite impressed with the tunnel. They took lots of photos with a proper camera and said that they would post them up on their own site, so hopefully I can link to that in due course. Anyway, as we were photographing everything, one of them exclaimed "That's a gun", and so I looked hard, and realised that it was, although the metal had badly corroded and all the wooden bits had rotted away....(so don't get angry if they don't look like schmeissers and lugers like you were probably expecting ) THis is the firing mechanism (you can see the trigger and guard)


    [​IMG]


    This on show the mechanism upside down - the breach is at the bottom, the space for the magazine infront of the trigger guard at the top.


    [​IMG]


    The pin on the right would have been to hold the wooden stock on.


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    showing the gun barrel....


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    I'll post these while the photos of the other one upload. I know it doesn't look like much (and has clearly been thoroughly "decommissioned" by rust for the purpose of the firearms law ), but we found weapons in the bunker!! (Apologies again for the photo quality. Hopefully the ones taken by the others will be much better)
     
  13. So, a little after finding the first weapon, they found another one! And to be honest, by this stage I just felt a little stupid for not having found them myself, but I guess I was just a bit excited at the weekend to notice.This one was at the other end of the tunnel, and like the first the stock had rotted away. It was also appeared to be a rifle. The metal on the second was in better condition (perhaps because it had been covered under the corrogated sheet) although still "decommissioned".


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    No magazines or ammunion found though, although we haven't started sifting through all the dirt on the floor yet.
     
  14. We also found a tin of green gunk (which the others thought might once have been green nazi paint)


    [​IMG]


    And the "rings" on closer inspection turned out to contain nuts??


    [​IMG]


    So there you go
     
  15. I tried to have a look last night, from a window in the first floor of the house, at what was behind the garage. It seems that there may well be enough room to stick a small camera or mirror down the gap between the roof and the concrete bit. In [glow=red,2,300]FACT[/glow], I think this might well be Dave's first task on his return (5pm landing, so perhaps a bit optomistic. Otherwise i might climb up myself.)

    As you can imagine, since finding the tunnel I've also been trying to speak to people who might know a bit of history about the house. Interestly, someone who used to work as a gardener for the old owners, told me that they had told him a long time ago (i know, i know!) that there was an underground chamber, but in a different location from the one we now know about. So..., just in case thats not a tall tale, I also think that I'll start by checking under all the manhole covers (there are a few).

    Lastly, WW2 historians are visiting this evening as well. We can hopefully start moving things around once they've been.


    [hr]


    Having spoken to a few people, most seem to think they are Lee Enfield rifles. That being the case, the rifles themselves may pre-date WW2 by some long way? Who knows why they are in the tunnel? I'm hoping the guys coming round this evening may have an idea. When I spoke to them on the phone, they said they would do some research in their archives beforehand on German activity in the area.


    [hr]


    QUICK UPDATE:Just heard back from local expert who's visiting with some others this evening. They've checked their records, and he has written....."Enquiries confirm that this was a store for the Luftwaffe anti-aircraft battery located in the vicinity"Now.... where's that anti-aircraft battery?
     
  16. Okay, quick update because I am shattered. The experts were actually a bit baffled! They said it wasn't what they were expecting to find. They said they hadn't really seen a construction similar, but thought that it was definitely German steel (as opposed to British or French).They agreed that it seemed to have been set up for heavy machinery and could have been a workshop, but they were not sure what for. They thought it might have been a very early construction at the start of the war. They still thought it may have Luftwaffe links.They also thought that the Lee Enfield guns were probably put in there before it was sealed, after the war, rather than have been used during the war.Whilst inside i took a picture of the (horse-drawn) cart arm...

    [​IMG]

    and also noticed that the green gunk had now turned orange since two days ago??

    [​IMG]

    They said it would probably help to clear the floor now to look for clues, and that they would go away and do some research through the papers that they hold.All in all, they were pleased to have seen it, but said that it raised more questions than answers! They did say that it appeared to be fit for use, which was good to hear
     
  17. A little something else of interest from my research, which I meant to post last night.Was looking at the 1945 map, and decided to try and shade off some of the features for identification. Here it is below. The red rectangle is the house, which still exists. The green circle to the north is a large tree (the stump still exists). The light green shading shows approximately where the quarry face is.The interesting bit is the sand coloured shading, which is where I have guessed the driveway / roadways would have been at the time. You can see better now I hope the track going down into the tunnel we've found. What is a little exciting what appears to be the continuation of that track in the other direction, behind the house (where the garage now is) and, unless its my mind tricking me, into a structure that abuts the quarry face. What do you think?

    [​IMG]
    [/size]
     
  18. Well, not an entirely productive lunchtime, I'm afraid to say And certainly no gold!
    Dave and I went into the tunnel and shot a lot of video of all the bits and pieces in there. We'll edit that and put up later today hopefully. Whilst that was happening, a bloke turned up to have a look at the steelwork for me. He's going to come back and sandblast a patch of it so we can assess how long / much it will take to sort out what appears to be heavy surface rust (afterall - may intention for digging this thing up was always so that I could use it again). He said that he could ultimately only do that once we'd opened the door up some more though.By the time we'd spoken about that, we were keen to have a peep down behind the garage. Dave thought about rigging up a "suspended" camera.


    [​IMG]


    We managed to climb onto the roof and clamber across.


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    Then, as Dave was having a look and I was trying to take another picture...


    [​IMG]


    ...I slipped and sliced my fingers on a bit of the galvanised roof panel All the heavy machinery last weekend and no mishaps, and then this happens! Bugger! Dave managed to get a picture. It just shows a rock wall and a concrete ceiling. It look very big from that angle at least.


    [​IMG]
     

Share This Page