Jersey's Nazi tunnels

St Brelade's Bay, Jersey. 06:30pm. September 2014. David and his good friend Andy explore abandoned underground tunnels on Jersey for a technical photo experience

Photography has taken me to some strange places over the last 20 years, but none so strange as a trip underground on the island of Jersey. On a whim, this exploration turned into an image that was truly magnificent, but on entering into this historical set, I literally had no idea what I was actually trying to achieve.

Andy and I have been best mates for years, since my ‘non-workshops’ idea took off in 2007 (couch-surfing to wonderful places in exchange for free photographic tuition). The first day we met, at St Brelade's Bay, windsurf trainer Andy moved my unzipped camera bag and dropped the entire bag contents onto the soft sand. We can laugh about it now, but at the time it was awful.

When Andy told me of these Hohlgangsanlage tunnels, the research began. These unfinished WW2 tunnels were intended to be used by German staff and house various bits of equipment, keeping them safe from aerial bombings. As we approach, I imagined finding old jeeps, rusting weapons and helmets, but after lifting the metal door panel and sliding under the entrance, it was evident there would be no chance of that. Wearing wellies and carrying torches, we enter HO2, a decaying munitions bunker.