March 2023

1. Another Spitfire Makers event in Shirley, Southampton. Coming soon – Tuesday 7th March.
2. Southampton Spitfire factory plaque unveiled by former worker – BBC.com
3. Spitfire Building without a Factory!

Posted on Facebook by Alan Matlock – 1st March 2023

Another Spitfire Makers event in Shirley, Southampton. Coming soon – Tuesday 7th March.

We are delighted to be working with Upper Shirley High secondary school who are sponsoring one of our next plaques. With kind permission of M&S, it will go at the entrance to their Food Hall on Winchester Road, just behind the school.

Spitfire Makers research is already part of the Year 9 History syllabus and students are fascinated to be able see the site of what was once the Sunlight Laundry, out of the their classroom window.

Parents can buy tickets through the school website but anyone can buy tickets on the door.

Posted on Facebook by Alan Matlock – 7th March 2023

Southampton Spitfire factory plaque unveiled by former worker – BBC.com

See below for photos of the event at the Maskers Studio Theatre formerly Autometalcraft during WWII.

Comment on Facebook by L W

Just wanted to say a massive Thank You to Alan Matlock who very kindly met me and my sister at the old Auto Metal Craft location in Emsworth Road to tell us about our Dad’s work on the Spitfire when he was 14. Made us so proud. Thank you Alan

Posted on Facebook by Alan Matlock – 22nd March 2023

Spitfire Building without a Factory!

PUBLISHED ON: March 21, 2023 PUBLISHED IN: Winchester and District Soroptimists Club News

(If you are interested in a talk from Alan for your group, adapted for your location, please contact via the Message button or email: spitfiremakersresearch@btinternet.com Dates are now booking into 2024!)

What a lively evening this was! Alan Matlock from the Spitfire Makers charity really took us to new heights with his enthusiasm for the mighty Spitfire. He began with the early days of the Supermarine Company and the Woolston and Itchen works on the river. The company specialised in flying boats but are of course best known for the dazzling Spitfire designed by RJ Mitchell and his team.

In 1940 it was apparent that the German Luftwaffe had these works on their radar and bombed the factories. The company then set about splitting up the various components of the aircraft and sub-contracting smaller companies in the area to complete them. The main sites for this enterprise covered 30 locations in Southampton and further sites in the surrounding Hampshire countryside. The completed parts were then shipped to Eastleigh airport where the aircraft would be built.

In his research on the aircraft Alan has discovered amazing stories of the lives of those who worked on these components. From the boy collecting rivets from the factory floor to the ATA women who flew the completed aircraft to where they were needed, with only a note book for flying instructions.

He has met, interviewed and compiled these stories from the people who were there, or from those whose families have submitted items and stories of their relatives who did so. His research also included Soroptimist support from around the world: fundraising for ambulances and support for those in need through war. Soroptimists would not support anything military.

The aim of the Spitfire Makers charity is to make sure this legacy lives on, and to ensure those who were involved in this story are remembered in Southampton – the home of the Spitfire. Spitfire Makers are continuing to install historical Blue Plaques around the city. For more information and to find out where the next plaques will be unveiled please take a look at the website spitfiremakers.org.uk

(The Spitfire Makers work in association with The Supermariners website and the Solent Sky Museum)