Spitfire Girl

Diana Mackintosh came of age to the drone of sirens alerting the people of Malta to the arrival of relentless flights of belligerent German and Italian menace – the bombers she first imagined as a swarm of black flies, pests that stung and cursed her Mediterranean homeland. The three-year onslaught never took a day off; it was endless, but supplies were not. The hope of a shipment of high protein became an ongoing dream. The only time Diana wasn’t hungry was when she slept. Her story of that time - and in 2020 she is one of the very few remaining who experienced it first-hand - makes it clear why Malta was collectively awarded the George Cross, the highest British civilian honour for heroism. Of course, as she argues, no one was trying to be heroic, but somehow they helped reverse the fortunes of the Second World War in the Mediterranean and North Africa.

Now at the age of 102, Diana is also celebrated for her children’s achievements — she helped her eldest son, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, and worked as his unpaid secretary — and for a life in the wings of British cinema, Hollywood and theatreland. Spitfire Girl recounts Diana’s extraordinary life, more than a century in the making.

Diana Mackintosh was born in January 1919. She remains as cool and collected as she was using as a Spitfire as a wartime taxi, socialising with the Queen and the royalty of British cinema, Hollywood and theatreland.

Douglas Thompson is the author of many non-fiction books covering an eclectic mix of subjects from major Hollywood biographies to revelatory bestsellers about remarkable people and events. He is a regular contributor to major newspapers and magazines worldwide. Four of his books are at present being developed for global television. Another is in preparation for theatre. With Christine Keeler, he wrote her revealing memoir The Truth At Last. That instant bestseller was revised as Secrets and Lies: The Trials of Christine Keeler and the 2020 audio version, recorded by actress Sophie Cookson who played Christine to critical acclaim in the successful BBC television series. His works, published in a dozen languages, include the television-based anthology Hollywood People, and a worldwide selling biography of Clint Eastwood. He collaborated with the billion dollar dancer Michael Flatley on his Sunday Times bestseller, Lord of the Dance. Thompson is a director of one of Britain’s best-loved literary festivals. He divides his time between a medieval Suffolk village and California, where he was based as a Fleet Street correspondent and columnist for more than twenty years.