Salisbury: Life-sized Spitfire honours secret workforce

The life-sized replica Spitfire took 18 weeks to construct and paint

A life-sized replica Spitfire honouring the civilians who secretly built the plane during World War Two has been unveiled near a former factory.

More than 2,000 Spitfires were built in requisitioned garages and sheds in Salisbury after Southampton's Spitfire production facilities were bombed.

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

The replica has gone on permanent display next to the A345 in Wiltshire.

Salisbury was the main site but Spitfires were also made in Trowbridge and Reading.

The audacious mission only became wider public knowledge after the release of the 2016 film The Secret Spitfires.

Spitfires were built in sheds, bus depots and garages by unskilled workers after production factories in Southampton were bombed

Norman Parker, 95, an engineer who worked on the planes, said about 40 Spitfires a month were built in Salisbury at one point.

Norman Parker, 95, an engineer who worked on the planes, said about 40 Spitfires a month were built in Salisbury at one point.

But he said the people who worked on the planes kept their secret well.

"We had one case, there was a couple at a dinner party in the 70s, and over the dinner table the wife said: 'Oh, I was building Spitfires in Salisbury' and her husband said: 'No you weren't, I was'.

"And it transpired they had both been working in the same factory and didn't know."

He said the people of Salisbury should be "very proud of the contribution their city made" to winning the war.

After a year in storage due to the pandemic, the life-sized replica was finally put in place

After a year in storage due to the pandemic, the life-sized replica was finally put in place.

Chris Whalley, chair of the Trustees of the Secret Spitfires charity, said it was a "very important moment" for the city and "a very emotional, very proud moment" for him.

"We've been working at it for the past three years now and Salisbury has had a pretty tough time, with one thing and another.

"So hopefully this will give everyone a bit of a lift."