A long time resident of Salisbury David Dell sent news from Panama where he now lives, that a barn hidden amongst farm cottages on the Netherhampton Road was once a Secret Spitfire factory. The barn tucked away off the main road behind farm cottages used to be part of the Welworthy factory on the other side of the road long since closed.
Welworthy factory was involved in making engine parts for Vickers/Rolls Royce and used this ordinary looking, windowless barn in addition to their facilities. We have a Secret Factory girl who has given us an interview explaining how she used to test the piston rings in the laboratory for the Spitfire engines which were on the ground floor of the factory. Only those who needed to be in there saw what happened. Most records of this factory and associated buildings they used have been lost or destroyed hence there’s little knowledge of what they did. If anyone has details who might have worked at the factory or know of someone who did, please let us know.
Thank you to all those who have written in with many new information which will appear on the site as we research and go through them.
