Sunday 12 April 2015

Traces of occupation at Plemont

With most of the Plement holiday camp eyesore removed, the old observation point bunker M3 has been revealed, along with what appears to be the start of a footpath from the far carpark.Also note the bunker on the sea side of the coast path - more later.


On the way to the bunker, a view of the least enticing laundrette I've ever seen (maybe I haven't travelled enough!).
And so to M3, the west side...
.. around to the north-east corner...
.. and from the east side, we see that a covered corridor is open at each end, with the entrance to the bunker well sheltered in the middle.
A mortar position is a little distance away to the east.
Next, we scrambled down to the cliff path, and then from there found our way to a machine gun position with shelter, below M3. This vaulted metal shelter is open at each end...
.. (looking back) with ways in from a protective passageway each end (no torches needed in this one, it's light in the daytime).
If you make your way around the outside, or through the passageway, you reach one of those semicircular MG "table" positions. Here we're looking back (to the west) at the shelter bunker.
In the same direction, halfway along the passage, the entrance on the left....
.. is this one, now from the other direction. The shelter is to our right here, with another couple of entrances behind us to the right.If you want to visit this one, be prepared to deal with gorse!
Back to the more well known fortifications, the centuries old guardhouse later adapted by the occupying forces as a searchlight position, as seen from the tower...
.. here. I'd be grateful to hear what's under the concrete on the left, which is part of the footpath at the moment - if anyone knows?
A little distance to the east of that tower, and in line with the final stretch of the lane as it reaches the parking area, some kind of shaft provides a little mystery, and the possibility that there's a bunker beneath? Whatever lies below, the drop is a few feet at least.




 Could it be this one? The angle of the tower in the background looks about right to me. UPDATE : see the comments for confirmation that this is the Luftwaffe Flugwache position (lookout post) - thanks go to Matthew Costard, Vice-President, CIOS (Jersey) 



UPDATE And another mortar & tobruk ringstand has been revealed near the lane to the far carpark (you have to climb a bank to see it)...
 ... it's right next to the small pumping station which appears to be staying put.



Return to bunkers index page

5 comments:

Tom Brossman said...

Great to see more bunkers on Crapaudmatic! We have a CIOS guided tour of this spot in a couple weeks so I'll ask about the concrete and see if anyone knows what it is.

Side note - I deleted my Google account so can't log in to Blogger comments any more, but I do enjoy reading whenever you post.

crapaudmatic said...

Thanks Tom, good to hear from you again - wish I still had an anon way to talk to you behind the scenes!

I've updated the pics with an old b/w shot btw, see what you think! I look forward to a proper interpretation of this whole site in due course.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...

Hi, crapaumatic. I'll be leading the Plemont walk, and I've been working closely with the National Trust during the demolition process to ensure that all German structures on the site are identified and preserved. The walk is a joint CIOS/National Trust event open only to pre-bookings on the NTJ website. Unfortunately, it is fully booked, but if demand is sufficient, I may organise another. The "shaft" you mention does indeed relate to the buried Luftwaffe Flugwache position shown in the wartime photo of my friend, the late Siegfried Kohler (the one sitting on the parapet). Hopefully, there will be an opportunity to get this excavated in due course (once the dust has settled). Similar comments apply to the mainly buried 5cm mortar ringstand by the pumping station. Best wishes, Matthew Costard, Vice-President, CIOS (Jersey)

crapaudmatic said...

Hi Matthew, many thanks for the information and taking the time to comment. I think some interpretation walks should prove popular for quite some time to come! And thanks for confirming the shaft is indeed a bunker!