Last-living Spitfire worker celebrates her 100th

The last person still alive to have been a part of Salisbury's secret Spitfire workforce, has recently celebrated her 100th birthday.

Some 2,500 Spitfires were built in secret in Salisbury after production facilities in Southampton were bombed in the Second World War.

Among the secret workforce was Kath Gaisford. She was 18 years old when she began building wings in the Castle Street and Hudson's Field factories.

Ms Gaisford said: "I volunteered when I was 18. I just thought I'll go to the Spitfire factory as it it's only down the road and then started the following week."

As well as Salisbury, Spitfires were also made in Trowbridge and Reading

Ms Gaisford said that once the structure of the wing had been built, it was passed over to the riveters who would put the "skins" on.

Unqualified girls, boys, women, elderly men and engineers worked on the top-secret operation.

She said she used to have to use a little door down the road to clock in as the front entrance was blacked out so that "nobody knew" it was a Spitfire factory.

Describing the night shifts as being "a bit of a laugh", Ms Gaisford said the workers would often "walk around in the dark and frighten one another".

She added: "Although times were tough, I would still go dancing. Ballroom dancing was my passion. I really loved it."