The Channel Island Military Museum

The Channel Island Military Museum The best Occupation experience on the Island. A vast collection displayed in a German bunker.
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We open for the season every year on the Monday before Good Friday and close at the end of October for the winter. The Museum is housed in a German bunker which once formed part of Hitlers Atlantic Wall defences. All the rooms and corridors are full of German military and civilian Occupation items. Hundreds of items, many personnel stories, and a 40 minute commentary. Well worth the visit if your

interested in the history of the Island. The artefacts on display in the Museum are a very small part of the owners collection which he started when he was 7 years old and is still searching for new items today nearly 50 years later. His lifelong passion has been to save all and any items from the 5 years of German Occupation, after hearing his Grandparents stories about the Occupation and those of his Father he became determined that this time should not be forgotten. The Occupation happened here on the Island of Jersey and is the most important time in the Islands recent history, the Museum and all the artefacts on display are evidence of this time and an exceptionally rare and valuable insight into those times for tourists and researchers alike.

Monday’s item of in is this very nice Luftwaffe blue/grey carrying case for 12 3.7cm Sprgr. Patr 18 Flak gun shells. Com...
15/06/2026

Monday’s item of in is this very nice Luftwaffe blue/grey carrying case for 12 3.7cm Sprgr. Patr 18 Flak gun shells. Complete with its shell rack and securing bar. It also has a very nice label. The feldpost number ( Fp 26769) refers back to a Luftwaffe Munition camp which is a nice addition.
These carrying cases are particularly hard to find with the racks in place as they made it almost unusable for any post war use and were normally removed to allow more storage room.
I will start to fill it up with any cases with heads that I have, and it will look quite impressive when done.

Fp 26769
Luftmun.Anstalt
Maintenon
(19.7.1941-14.2.1942) Feldluft-Munitionslager
Maintenon
(15.2.1942-30.7.1942) Feldluft-Munitionslager
1/XII
(10.11.1944-Kriegsende) 17.2.1945 gestrichen.

Below is some information from the internet on the ammunition that this case would have contained. Hopefully this will be of further interest.

The 3.7 cm Sprgr. Patr. 18 (Sprenggranatpatrone 18) was a standard high-explosive (HE) fixed ammunition round utilized by the German military during World War II. It was primarily fired from anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns such as the 3.7 cm FlaK 18, 37, 43, and the 3.7 cm PaK 36.
Technical Specifications: Round
Designation: 3.7 cm Sprenggranatpatrone 18 (with tracer)
Complete Round Weight: ~0.622 kg (projectile alone) to 1.78 kg (complete round)
Projectile Type:
High-explosive (HE)
Muzzle Velocity: Approximately 770 - 780 m
Bursting Charge: 26 - 44 g of explosive material (such as PETN or TNT)
Cartridge Dimensions: 3.7 × 265 mm (rimmed, belted case)
Weapon Compatibility:
This round was engineered to be fired out of several prominent German artillery and armored vehicle weapons:3.7 cm FlaK 18 / FlaK 36 / FlaK 37: Towed and static anti-aircraft artillery.3.7 cm PaK 36: Standard early-war towed anti-tank gun.3.7 cm KwK 36: Main armament for early variants of the Panzer III medium tank.
Ammunition Breakdown:
The Patrone (complete round) was a fixed-cartridge design, meaning the projectile was crimped to a brass or steel cartridge case containing the propelling charge.
The "Sprgr." designation stands for Sprenggranate (high-explosive shell). It typically featured a tracer in the base of the projectile (often denoted as L'spur or L'Spur) to assist with anti-aircraft targeting and trajectory correction. For an in-depth breakdown of the German World War II numbering and naming conventions, you can review the technical manual available on the Stephen Taylor Historian Archive.

The Museum is open and all ready for the day ahead. A few new items added to the displays this morning, which happens qu...
14/06/2026

The Museum is open and all ready for the day ahead. A few new items added to the displays this morning, which happens quite often as new items are discovered.
We have a full selection of books on the Occupation for sale, some are not available anywhere else, so if you are interested in the history come down and see what we have.

Saturdays items of interest is a small selection of some of the many German proclamations that were put up around the Is...
13/06/2026

Saturdays items of interest is a small selection of some of the many German proclamations that were put up around the Island during the 5 years of Occupation. Rules and regulations were regularly posted in places of prominence for the population outlining what you could and couldn’t do and the consequences of contravening the German rules. These and other original examples are on display in the museum and make interesting reading.
Most are in both German and English and make such proclamations unique to the Channel Islands.

Fridays items of interest are these documents issued to George Ernest White of Sunnyvale, Mont A L’Abbe. Framed and on d...
12/06/2026

Fridays items of interest are these documents issued to George Ernest White of Sunnyvale, Mont A L’Abbe.
Framed and on display in the museum is his identity card with photo, printed in both German and English which was something he had to carry on his person everyday and was to be presented when asked for. The other is a letter from the Town Hall dated April 42 stating that nothing prejudicial is known about him and endorsing his application to fish at Elisabeth Castle. The letter was signed by the Constable of the Parish and sent to the Feldkommandantur and the application was granted, allowing him to fish from the Castle breakwater during daylight hours. He was not permitted to enter the Castle itself. In addition he was also allowed to fish in Rozel Bay.
Such documents show how many things we take for granted today were severely restricted during the Occupation and almost everything you did required some form of official permission.

Thursdays item of interest is this German military issue stretcher bearers armband (WEHRMACHT HILFS-KRANKENTRÄGER) This ...
11/06/2026

Thursdays item of interest is this German military issue stretcher bearers armband (WEHRMACHT HILFS-KRANKENTRÄGER) This is an early version and has the units stamp on the upper right hand side. Unfortunately it is not possible to read now as the armband was well used and the unit number is lost to time.

Wednesday’s items of interest is this German 27mm flare/signal pistol (Leuchtpistole 34) and a handful of red and blue R...
10/06/2026

Wednesday’s items of interest is this German 27mm flare/signal pistol (Leuchtpistole 34) and a handful of red and blue Rauchspurpatrone flares.
The pistol is coded duv42 indicating it was made by Berliner-Luebecker Maschinenfabrik, Luebeck plant in 1942.

Below is some additional information on the pistol and the flares which taken from the internet and may be of added interest.

During World War II, the German military heavily relied on flare pistols (known as Leuchtpistole or "signal pistols") for communication, illumination, tactical signaling, and even direct combat. Developed primarily by Walther, these 27mm (often categorized under 26.5mm) break-action smoothbore pistols were universally issued across all branches of the Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe, and Kriegsmarine.
The Leuchtpistole 34 (LP 34) was the standard-issue German flare gun for the majority of the war.Material: Early models used steel, but production quickly shifted to Duralumin (an aircraft-grade aluminum alloy), making it exceptionally lightweight. Late-war material shortages forced a temporary shift back to steel and zinc. Design Features: It featured a single-action exposed hammer, an enlarged trigger guard for glove wear in winter, black or brown checkered Bakelite grips, and a lanyard ring.Upgrades: Around 1941, a loaded chamber indicator was added on top of the frame so soldiers could silently check if a round was chambered in the dark.

The flare cartridges are
Rauchspurpatrone (German for "smoke tracer cartridge") is a specialized type of 27mm signal pistol ammunition used by the German military (Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe) during World War II.Key Characteristics & Unlike standard light-emitting flares, it was designed to emit a dense, visible smoke trail (tracer) rather than a bright light burst.Tactical Use: It was primarily used for daytime communication, target marking, air-to-ground or air-to-air signaling, and marking landing zones. For example, bomber and fighter crews carried them in survival gear.Firing Method: It was typically fired from standard 27mm German flare pistols (Leuchtpistole). To ensure the smoke trail remained visible and did not dissipate too quickly in the wind, it was often fired at a very flat angle.
The cartridges were explicitly marked by color and typically featured lightweight aluminum casings roughly 8 cm in length:Rauchspurpatrone (Rot) produced a red smoke trail, and (Blau) a blue smoke trail.

Tuesdays item of interest was an unexpected turn up last night. The item in question is a rack for six 5cmmortar bombs. ...
09/06/2026

Tuesdays item of interest was an unexpected turn up last night. The item in question is a rack for six 5cm
mortar bombs. These racks were used to feed an M19 Maschinengranatwerfer
(automatic mortar) and clipped together with other racks end on end allowing for rapid fire. The only M19 in the Island is situated at Corbiere by the lighthouse. So without a shadow of doubt this rack was from this bunker, but was retrieved from the German tunnels years after being dumped in there during the post Occupation clear up. It is in need of a clean but should look really good once done.
I might even have some spare loose 5cm mortar bombs which can be added to the rack.

Below is some information on the M19 mortar which may be of interest.

The M-19 Maschinengranatwerfer is a German 50 mm mortar which was used during World War II. The mortar was developed in 1934 for the purpose of defending permanent military bases. It had a maximum rate of fire of 120 rounds per minute and a range of 750 metres.
It was made by the firm,
Rheinmetall-Borsig who built around 150 of them.
Specifications
Mass: 220 kg
Shell weight: 0.9 kg
Caliber: 50 mm
Elevation: +48° to +87°
Traverse: 360°
Rate of fire: 60-120 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity: 44-83 m/s
Maximum firing range: 50-750 m
The M19 was a very heavy and complicated weapon system, with its barrel and base alone weighing 220 kg.
This automatic 5 cm mortar could fire a maximum of 120 bombs a minute, and was electrically operated with manual backup. The firing rate of 120 bombs/minute was seldom used as it caused much stress and wear on the construction. It was loaded with clips of six bombs by two crew members. Several other crew members prepared the clips. One gunner aimed and fired the weapon.
The idea was that the M19 mortar would be used in conjunction with machine guns, especially those mounted in armoured domes. The mortar was to fire into "dead zone" or "blind zone" areas that were out of range and direct sighting for the machine guns, such as low spots in the terrain and the far sides of hills and ridges. In this way enemy soldiers seeking cover from direct fire would be flushed out into the open, so that the machine guns could engage them. The 5 cm projectiles possessed small amount of high-explosive filler and generated only a small number of fragments. It required a significant number of rounds to have effect on troops in prone positions and seeking cover.

Mondays item of interest was waiting for me upon my arrival home from an excellent trip to Normandie. This very nice ex...
08/06/2026

Mondays item of interest was waiting for me upon my arrival home from an excellent trip to Normandie. This very nice example of a Kriegsmarine single decal helmet that left the Island in the late 60’s has just come in from America. The helmet was issued to two different soldiers, one wrote his name onto the leather liner and the other painted his name onto the inside front of the peak. That is very unusual and the first time I have seen this as the usually put their name in the rear skirt. Once home this evening I will search through my records and see if I have anything on either name.
I have purposely removed from the photo the symbol under the eagles feet as some people appear to get offended.
Many thanks to Christopher for making this happen. It will fit in perfectly with the Museum’s collection.

Below is the story of how the helmet got to America and some family background in Christopher’s own words.
The Dennis Audrain story will be covered in full at a future date.

I spent the summer of
1968 on Jersey, working in my brother-in-law's green grocers, D.Audrain, in the central market in St Helier.
Des Audrain, the actual owner, was still working there on occasion.
He knew I had a morbid fascination with the Occupation and presented me with the helmet shortly before I returned to New York. e said
He said that it had been handed to him on Liberation Day by a young soldier that he knew, who told him that he had just found out that his family had died in an Allied bombing.
Des's son, Dennis Audrain, drowned while trying to escape from the island. The boy who was with him was captured by the Germans
and sent to a concentration camp in France, I think.
My brother-in-law, Cecil Audrain, lived through the occupation with his father and mother.

The Channel Islands Military Museum is open from 10am today. With a comprehensive collection of Occupation artefacts gat...
07/06/2026

The Channel Islands Military Museum is open from 10am today. With a comprehensive collection of Occupation artefacts gathered up over the last 57 years the Museum is definitely the place to visit if you want to experience the authentic feel of what the Occupation was truly like. Every room in the bunker complex is full of interesting items, photos and stories.
Admission is £10 an adult and £5 a child, this represents true value for money.
Found at the Northern end of the 5 Mile Road, opposite Jersey Pearl and next to Lewis’s Tower. Just look for the flags.
Bus route 22.

A few pictures from this evening.
06/06/2026

A few pictures from this evening.

Address

Grande Route Des Mielles
Saint Ouen
JE32FN

Opening Hours

Monday 10:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 10:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 10:00 - 17:00
Thursday 10:00 - 17:00
Friday 10:00 - 17:00
Saturday 10:00 - 17:00
Sunday 10:00 - 17:00

Telephone

+447797732072

Website

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