Final salute to the Secret Spitfire teen who helped WW2 heroes take wing

Tributes to 'unsung' engineer Norman as he dies aged 98

- MARTIN FRICKER

AN "unsung hero" who secretly helped to build Spitfires during the Second World War has died.

Norman Parker, 98, was a schoolboy engineer and one of the last living workers who constructed more than 2,000 fighter aircraft.

They built parts in car garages, sheds, workshops and factories in Salisbury, Wilts.

Norman was just 14 years old when he joined a few hundred others, mainly women and children, to take part in the crucial project.

Many of the women were hairdressers and secretaries who retrained as engineers, while most youngsters were school-age.

All those involved in the project had to sign the Official Secrets Act so that the Germans would not find out.