The National Spitfire Project is proud to announce that Draper Tools has become an official supporter of the National Spitfire Monument by sponsoring one of the monument’s commemorative roundels.
As a long-established family business with deep roots in Southampton, Draper Tools’ support represents another important connection between the city, its industrial heritage, and the story of the Supermarine Spitfire.
Founded more than 100 years ago, Draper Tools has grown into one of the UK’s best-known tool brands while maintaining its strong family values and connection to the South Coast.
The company’s current headquarters site on Hursley Road, Chandler’s Ford, also shares a historical link to the wartime Spitfire story. Historical records indicate the site was previously used as central stores supporting Southampton’s dispersed “shadow factory” network during the Second World War, helping maintain aircraft production during wartime bombing campaigns.
In a joint family statement, John, Tom and Joe Draper said:
“As a 106-year-old family business with deep roots in Southampton, supporting the National Spitfire Monument means a great deal to us. The Spitfire represents the very best of British engineering and innovation, and there is no more fitting place to honour it than the city where it was born.
We feel an extra special connection to the Spitfire’s history, with our head office site having once served as the central stores for the shadow factories, helping ensure production continued during wartime.
The Draper family and the entire team at Draper Tools are incredibly proud to play a part in the monument that will celebrate the Spitfire and the people behind it for generations to come.”
The roundels form a key part of the monument design and symbolise the international legacy of the Spitfire. Around the outer edge of the monument plinth, 30 roundels will represent the 30 nations that flew the Spitfire during its service life. Each roundel, measuring 75 centimetres in diameter, will display the national insignia used on the aircraft itself — creating a powerful visual tribute to the global cooperation, courage, and shared history connected to the Spitfire story.
Together, the roundels create a unifying circle around the monument, reflecting how the Spitfire became not just a British icon, but an aircraft admired and flown around the world.
The National Spitfire Monument will honour not only “The Few”, but also the thousands of engineers, factory workers, mechanics, designers, test pilots, and support staff whose skill and determination made the Spitfire possible.
The project continues to bring together businesses, organisations, and individuals who want to help preserve Southampton’s aviation heritage and ensure the story of the Spitfire continues to inspire future generations.