The Channel Islands Occupation Society (Jersey)

The Channel Islands Occupation Society (Jersey) has been opening and restoring German fortifications for 45 years and arguably boasts some of the best-preserved fortifications today that originally formed and defended part of Hitler’s much vaunted “Atlantikwall” which stretched from inside the arctic circle of northern Norway to the French/Spanish boarder with about 10% of the fortifications constructed found in the Channel Islands!

Today, thanks to the work of the CIOS, these structures attract both experts and those with a general interest in the Occupation with displays including first-hand accounts of soldiers of both sides, the forced labours used to build the fortifications through to civilian life and the Allied battles that took place to help Liberate Europe and those who sacrificed their lives for this goal.

But the CIOS is not just about bunkers! With a reputation as the ‘go to’ Society for information regarding the Occupation, the CIOS also has an extensive archive, which is held with Jersey Heritage, and we welcome new members from all backgrounds to join our volunteers to help open and maintain sites. So if you’re interested give us a shout.

As a volunteer Society, we can’t open as much as we would like too. But we do work with Jersey Bunker Tours (who have the bonus of a superb online resource regarding the Occupation!) as well as History Alive who both offer ‘out of hours’ tours of all our sites. With tours available for all budgets and tailored for requests!