I visited the Channel Islands Military Museum to see how its private collection of original relics tells the story of Jersey’s German occupation and how it connects with other key sites across the island.
Inside the Channel Islands Military Museum
During my visit to the museum, which is located on the south-west coast at St Ouen, opposite Jersey Pearl and adjacent to Lewis’s Tower. I briefly chatted to the owner of the CI military museum, private collector Damien Horn outside. Thereafter I asked Damien about the closed grate to the right of the entrance, which he explained had to remain closed for safety reasons as the turret, which would have once held an MG34 machine gun had been removed leaving a deep hole below.
I then explored the museum set inside an authentic German Jäger Casemate bunker at my own pace, ultimately this type of bunker would have once housed a 10.5cm calibre gun. Furthermore, during the occupation of Jersey this bunker also formed what was known as a Widerstandsnest (or Resistance Nest). This then formed part of a Stützpunkt St.P or Strongpoint (STP).
Another surviving example of this type of defensive position is St Catherine’s Bunker, part of Widerstandsnest Wn Mole Verclut at St Catherine’s Breakwater.
The Enigma Machine
This museum has an original working three-rotor Enigma encryption machine, although shown on display rather than in operational use. If you have seen the movie The Imitation Game (2014), starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing. You will already have an idea of how ciphers, the Enigma machine and cryptography influenced the outcome of the Second World War.
However, the Enigma display is only one part of what makes the bunker setting feel real. As I moved through the rooms, I saw modern warning signs for very low doorways and occasional steps. The tight layout reflects Organisation Todt’s focus on function over comfort when it used forced slave labour to build the bunker.
Moving Through the Bunker
In places, I could see how the bunker design controlled sightlines and movement. For example, an inverted timber pyramid section included a small firing point. This helped me understand how the site’s layout directed its internal operation, including defensive positions facing different directions.
Because the museum sits inside the bunker itself, the building becomes part of the story. As a result, the exhibits do not feel separate from the setting. Instead, the artefacts and the structure work together to show how the occupation shaped both daily life and military planning.
The CI Military Museum has the most extensive collection of original artefacts from the Jersey occupation period. In addition, this collection was gathered over a lifetime. It comes from Damien’s childhood passion and fascination with occupation‑era memorabilia since he was just seven years old.
What You Will See at the Channel Islands Military Museum
The museum runs through a series of narrow bunker rooms and connecting passages. The doorways are very low, and while most areas are flat, a few steps break up the layout. As I moved through the space, the sheer volume of exhibit material became clear very quickly. The museum curator has placed artefacts close together, with original signage, documents, and photographs lining the walls.
A large part of the collection focuses on military equipment. This includes weapons, ammunition, and supporting hardware used by German forces during the occupation. Seeing these items inside the bunker helps place them in their intended operational setting rather than as isolated objects.
Alongside this, the museum draws attention to everyday items used by occupying forces. I saw German crockery marked with Nazi insignia, along with pieces from the German Red Cross. The display cabinets show milk‑powder tins, including Klim (“milk” spelled backwards), along with other period food packaging. They illustrate how occupying forces managed food supplies and daily provisioning.
In addition, several rooms recreate working and storage environments from the period. Machinery, tools, and practical fittings show how the bunker functioned day to day. These displays add context and help link military activity with the routines that supported it.
Throughout the museum, explanatory panels provide background without overwhelming the private collections exhibits. As a result, it is easy to move at your own pace and focus on the details that matter most to you.
Try to Find the Soldier’s Jack Boot Print and a Dog Footprint
Some of the most striking details are easy to miss unless you are physically there. In one area, a footprint left by a German soldier’s dog, likely a German Shepherd, is still visible in the concrete. Nearby, the concrete preserves the imprint of a soldier’s jack boot from the bunker’s construction.
These marks are small and almost insignificant at first glance. However, they add a human presence that photographs and text panels cannot replicate. They are reminders that this was an active, lived-in place rather than a purpose-built museum space.
How the Channel Islands Military Museum Explains the German Occupation
Rather than relying on a single narrative, the museum explains the occupation through layered context. As I moved through the bunker, the interpretation connected military planning, daily life, and local impact without separating them into abstract themes. This approach makes the occupation feel immediate rather than distant.
The layout of the bunker itself plays a role in this explanation. Defensive positions, firing points, and sightlines remain visible, which helps show how German forces expected to operate from the site. These structural features sit alongside artefacts and documents, allowing the physical space to reinforce the historical explanation.
Interpretive panels add clarity where needed. They explain why specific items mattered, how people used them, and what those details reveal about conditions on the island. The text stays grounded in evidence and leaves speculation aside, relying instead on objects, markings, and surviving records.
By combining the bunker structure with original artefacts and restrained interpretation, the museum shows the occupation as a lived reality. This approach builds context from physical evidence rather than hindsight.
Channel Islands Military Museum vs Jersey War Tunnels
I visited the Jersey War Tunnels and the Channel Islands Military Museum on the same trip, and they sit at opposite ends of the spectrum in scale and style.
Visiting the Jersey War Tunnels
The Jersey War Tunnels operate on a much larger footprint. The site began as an air‑raid shelter for German troops and later expanded into a 500‑bed underground hospital. You feel that size as soon as you step inside. The museum sets a structured route and plans for high visitor numbers. The story unfolds in a set sequence, and the space itself does a lot of the storytelling. It’s the biggest tunnel system on the island open to the public, and it presents the occupation narrative in a clear, organised way.
Visiting the Channel Islands Military Museum
The Channel Islands Military Museum offers a different experience. It isn’t a tunnel complex at all but a coastal defence bunker built into the Atlantik Wall. From the outside it looks small, but inside it feels like a Tardis. A private collector spent decades gathering the original objects that fill every room, then turned his archive into a museum. The displays sit close, and you can study items at your own pace. It’s a shorter walk than the War Tunnels, but it’s dense with detail and atmosphere.
How the Two Experiences Compare
Both sites cover the same period, but they do it through different lenses. The Jersey War Tunnels offer scale, structure, and a guided narrative, with large original artefacts on display, including German military vehicles, anti‑aircraft guns, and other heavy equipment you won’t find elsewhere on the island. The Channel Islands Military Museum, by contrast, focuses on intimacy and original small‑scale artefacts, with weaponry and personal items displayed in a more compact, personal space. I found value in both, just in very different ways.
Is the Channel Islands Military Museum Worth Visiting?
In my view, the Channel Islands Military Museum is worth visiting if you’re interested in original artefacts and the experience of being inside an authentic wartime bunker. The museum is compact, but it uses its space well, and what you see inside feels personal because it comes from Damien’s private collection, gathered over many years.
It is the kind of place where you can take your time, look closely at individual items, and get a sense of how the building would have functioned during the occupation. If you value authenticity and enjoy seeing original pieces in their original setting, the museum offers a meaningful and absorbing visit.
CI Military Museum Opening Times and Practical Details
The museum is open in all weathers 7 days a week from April through till the end of October. There is parking 50m away in a public car park at Les Laveurs, turn left after the Jersey Pearl on the route to L’Etacq or right before Jersey Pearl if heading towards St Helier.
The terrain is predominantly sand, since the bunker is in the sand dunes, so it is not suitable for wheelchairs unless you have some off-road capability.
Is the Channel Islands Military Museum Free to Visit?
The museum is inexpensive, offering a very interesting and informational perspective to occupation on the island of Jersey. Therefore, it is not free to visit. The admission charges as of September 2025 were Adults £8 and Children £5.
Where the Channel Islands Military Museum Fits into a Jersey Visit
The museum fits naturally into a Jersey itinerary because it sits at the same LibertyBus stop as the Jersey Pearl store and café, Additionally it is located adjacent to Lewis’s Tower. I spent about an hour at Jersey Pearl, had lunch there, and then walked straight over to the CI military museum. The timing worked well. The museum takes an hour when you move through the bunker at a steady pace.
Location / How To Get There
Address: La Grande Route des Mielles, St. Ouen’s Bay, Jersey. (opposite Jersey Pearl)
Contact Museum
+44 7797 732072
damienhorn1@gmail.com
By Bus: Take the LibertyBus Route 22 or the X22 from Liberation Station in St Helier to L’Etacq. This route directly serves both the Military Museum and the Jersey Pearl stop.
Nearest Public Car Park and Public Toilets: what3words at Les Laveurs, St Ouen.
Museum Entrance: what3words amongst the sand dunes.
Nearest Accommodation:
The museum sits next to Lewis’s Tower, a Martello Tower built around 1835 to guard the coast against a French attack. It’s possible to stay in the tower which accommodates up to six on camp beds, and offers direct beach access, electricity, lighting, kettle and no running water (except that which seeps through the ceiling when it rains). Additionally, there is no WiFi or wheelchair access and the public toilet is 50 metres away, but hey.. It’s a basic rustic stay offered by Jersey Heritage as a unique one-of-a-kind self-catering stay in Jersey.
FAQ’s
You can find a full breakdown in my comparison section above, where I look at how the Channel Islands Military Museum and the Jersey War Tunnels differ in style, focus and visitor experience.
It formed part of a Widerstandsnest and then a larger Strongpoint. I’ve also written an overview of the Hohlgangsanlagen tunnel systems, which looks at how the bunkers and tunnels worked together across the island.
It is a fully authentic German wartime casemate bunker from the occupation period.
The museum sits inside an original wartime bunker, so access is limited. The approach runs through soft sand, and the interior includes low doorways, steps and narrow passages.
Yes. The museum displays an original three‑rotor Enigma machine used during the occupation.
Yes. The museum is adjacent to Lewis’s Tower and directly opposite Jersey Pearl, and both sit on the same LibertyBus 22/X22 stop towards L’Etacq, making it simple to visit them together.
