SWINDON’s silver screen star Diana Dors has been given her own piece of lasting glory in the town after a blue plaque was unveiled at her birthplace on Saturday to honour the actress.

Over 100 people gathered outside number 61 and 62 Kent Road in Old Town for the grand occasion as guests of honour, Diana’s son Jason Dors-Lake, and his daughter, Ruby Lake revealed the memento by Swindon Heritage.

In true Hollywood style, the arrival of the 1959 pink Cadillac given to the Diana by Shepperton Studios kicked off the morning - much to delight of onlookers including Monica Matthews, 84 who was a childhood friend of the actress.

Now living in Wroughton, Monica said: “When she was growing up, her dad got in touch with my father to do their gardening but because they were spending a lot of money on Diana, they couldn’t afford to pay him. Diana was a year older than me but her parents offered her toys and clothes as way of helping to pay.

“I remember she always said she was going to be famous and she knew what she wanted. I remember seeing the pink Cadillac parked outside their house in Marlborough Road when she used to come back and visit her parents with her eldest son Gary so it brings back a lot of memories seeing it again.”

It was on October 23, 1931, that Winifred Payne gave birth to Diana Mary Fluck at the former Haven Nursing Home which was once joined to a doctor’s surgery.

The Swindon goddess, who appeared in more than 60 films over almost four decades, was often referred to as Britain's version of Marilyn Monroe.

Standing with pride at the unveiling, Diana's granddaughter Ruby, 27 said: “It is quite an amazing thing to see that from so many years ago to now, she is still so popular and that she is still remembered.

“One thing which has come across about her is that she knew what she wanted and went after it and I think that is a quality I have picked up from her.

“She was an amazing actress and people saw how talented she was in her later years. It is a shame people didn’t see it sooner and instead saw her as a sex symbol but she was a lot more than that. She was a singer and a businesswoman and she knew how to go out and get things she wanted.”

Swindon Heritage approached the current owners of the houses in Kent Road last year in hope of installing a blue plaque, and with the help of crowdfunding, they managed to raise the £380 needed for the commemoration.

Noel Beauchamp of Swindon Heritage said: “There was nobody more famous than Diana Dors in her day and for her to be from Swindon is brilliant.

"Swindon Heritage Magazine tries to celebrate everything good about the town and it is a golden opportunity to remember such a famous icon.

“We have to say a huge thank you to the public who crowdfunded for this plaque because it shows people find it and Diana important for Swindon.”

Jason and his daughter Ruby also re-visited the statue of their famous relative, who died of ovarian cancer in 1984, located at Shaw Ridge, in the afternoon to add to the bronze bust created by Enid Mitchell currently on display at the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery on Bath Road.

The film star is the latest of Swindon’s great and good to find lasting recognition in her hometown after Swindon Heritage magazine has already unveiled blue plaques in honour of suffragette Edith New and the wartime heroes the Starr brothers last year.

More photos in Monday's edition of the Swindon Advertiser