Shirley Spitfire Trail: The Secret Factories

Thursday 1 October 2026, 10.00am

When the bombers destroyed the Supermarine works at Woolston in September 1940, Spitfire production did not stop. It scattered. Within weeks, components were being made in garages, a laundry, a bus depot and requisitioned workshops across Southampton — ordinary buildings on ordinary streets, turning out parts for the country’s most important fighter aircraft while the people living next door had no idea. Shirley was at the centre of it.

Join Alan Matlock, Chair of the Southampton-based Spitfire Makers Charitable Trust, for a guided walk through the streets where that secret production went on.

What the walk covers

Alan will trace the history of the Supermarine company: its development, guided by the design and engineering genius of R.J. Mitchell and his design team, the bombing of the factories in September 1940, and the extraordinary dispersal of production that followed.

You will see five of the Spitfire Makers commemorative blue plaques, marking the secret locations where Spitfire parts were made after the Woolston works were destroyed – including one of the buildings still standing today.

Along the way the walk takes in more than the Spitfire story. You will hear about the Titanic; honour the only Southampton man to receive the Victoria Cross in the Second World War; and meet the British and Empire Heavyweight Boxing Champion of a century ago, who became a controversial figure at the outbreak of war.

The walk is illustrated throughout with period photographs, and enlivened by first-hand accounts of what life was actually like for the people doing this vital work.

Practical details

• Date and time: Thursday 1 October 2026, 10.00am
• Meeting point: The Park Life Café, Church Street, Southampton SO15 5LW — housed in a refurbished wartime ARP post.
• Google Pin: https://maps.app.goo.gl/6aJ7fUtf3FdAj3sm9
• Duration: 90 to 120 minutes
• Distance: 1.7 miles
• Cost: £15 per person, including a complimentary copy of the Shirley Spitfire Trail map. Additional copies are available on the day for £1.
• Parking: Free and unrestricted in the nearby residential roads — Colebrook, Twyford, Bourne and Branksome Avenues.
• Accessibility: There are some steps on the route, which can be by-passed. Anyone preferring a shorter walk is welcome to wait at The Range café on Winchester Road while the group goes on to the furthest point of the trail. Please let us know when you book so we can plan for it.
• Refreshments: The walk returns to the Park Life Café at the end, where teas, coffees and light lunches are available at your own cost.

Access to the surviving factory building is possible but subject to building work currently in progress, so cannot be guaranteed on the day.

Your guide

Alan Matlock is Chair of the Spitfire Makers Charitable Trust (registered charity no. 1215147), which commemorates Southampton’s Spitfire heritage through its blue plaque scheme, trail maps and education work. A contribution from every ticket goes directly to the Trust.

You can view the Shirley Spitfire Trail map in advance on the Trust’s website.

Book your place

Twenty places only, and this walk falls on the anniversary itself.