A quiet and idyllic summer evening at Chouet, which has changed a great deal in recent times. (0651962)

IT’S a ‘mineral-resource safeguarding area’ to the planners.

To you and me, just plain old Chouet with the pronunciation emphasis on the chewy. Not ‘shoo-eh’, simply ‘chewy’.

As an area, we know it mainly as a place to dump household waste. In recent times there’s been a nasty smell in the air and on several Sundays throughout the year there’s banger racing on the beach.

But, as the Royal Haskoning report into the island’s coastal defences is pleased to announce, Chouet is much more than a mineral-resource safeguarding area – does that mean emergency quarrying reserve? – and somewhere to put our rubbish and race around noisily in old cars.

Chouet is steeped in history – and, to be more precise, for the best part of a couple of centuries, quarrying – and is home to an array of fortifications dating back to the Napoleonic wars of the late 18th century and the German Occupation.

This aerial shot clearly shows the Mont Cuet site. (0564010)

Like many island spots, it has probably lost a lot of its charm and character. Certainly one-time Chouet resident Rene Mouraille thinks so.

On a rare return to the island last year, he visited the property that replaced the little house, not much bigger than a hut, that he grew up in with his grandparents, Bill and Ellen Domaille. Called Tiger Bay, the building has been replaced by a modern bungalow.

Rene recalled living on the headland just after the Occupation until leaving the island in 1957.

Among his recollections are the building linked to the Ebenezer Le Page story (see pages 2 and 3).

‘My cousin, James Youlton [Guernsey lifeboats], lived there for a while and I seem to recall it was a white cottage that overlooked Ladies’ Bay,’ he said.

‘There were two stone quarries a little further toward the Martello tower and between them ran a German tunnel which had a side chamber running off at a right angle. The tunnel must have been at least 200m long.’

He said there was also a German bunker at the top, which had steps running down to it.

‘I remember the door was rather odd, being square-shaped, and halfway up the wall it had a metal door still attached. I think it was a signal station but can’t be sure,’ he said.

‘Tiger Bay was actually lived in by my grandparents, but they couldn’t have been very comfortable as it looks so small. It was situated in an old granite quarry.

Erosion is an ongoing problem on the headland. (0643552)

‘I don’t know much about the house that was located on the site of the [destroyed] German tower, but I suppose it must have had quite a nice view.’

Rene said that the granite quarries were remarkable and there was a great deal of wildlife and yellow gorse.

‘Chouet in those days was very special to me and I have very fond memories of the place. Unfortunately, today it has changed beyond comprehension and has lost a tremendous amount of its character. I was very sad to learn of the loss of the German tower. It should never have been destroyed,’ he said.

‘Sometimes at night you could hear strange noises out at sea. It sounded like a naval battle perhaps 30 or 40 miles away. I have only heard it twice and the old man [Bill] called it “les cannons des noises”, which was some phenomenon far out under the ocean.

‘With hindsight, it may well be associated with tectonic-plate differential, but it was eerie to lie in bed listening to it.’

Half a century on, Chouet headland retains fantastic views across Grand Havre and out to sea.

It’s also popular with joggers, dog walkers, model plane enthusiasts and, half hidden away in the bottom of a shallow gravel quarry, pistol shooters.

But, for sure, more has gone than remains.