Working on planes in Birmingham during WWII

[KitHannay]

Hi all,

My nana Catherine 'Kate' Haughey was born in Donegal, Ireland in 1920. When WWII broke out she was 19, and almost immediately left Ireland and went to Birmingham to help build airplane wings for three years before coming home again. I wonder would anyone be able to tell me where she might have worked? I don't know the area or the history of the area at all - was there one place where she might have been employed? I don't know where else I could find details of her time there. Any advice would be appreciated!

[Bearnan]

Hi Kit Hanney. I think your nana probably worked at Castle Bromwich, Birmingham working on airplane wings,they made Spitfires there. If you look online for Spitfires, Castle Bromwich it will give you some information.

Not a million miles from where I live 

[medpat]

My father also worked at Castle Bromwich throughout the war making parts for Spitfires.

[seaweed]

Castle Bromwich was not the only place where aircraft and aircraft sub assemblies were manufactured in Birmingham. The massive Austin Works at Longbridge for one.
see http://www.austinmemories.com/styled/index.html

[Crumblie]

Do you know what skills she had and/or why she left Ireland to build aircraft?

[KitHannay]

I have no idea why she left but she came from a farming background in a very rural part of Ireland. She certainly wouldn't have had any particular skills that would be applicable to building airplanes.

[Crumblie]

Coming from a farming background she was probably used to hard work and in WW2 a lot of women were trained to jobs traditionally done by men such as welding etc. Sadly once the war ended and the men returned they were expected to go back to whatever they doing before the war.