If you want to get ahead get a hat and for Italians seeking a new life in Britain 100 years ago one of the best jobs was working at Guilio Cambi's Panama Hat factory in Borehamwood.

Mr Cambi opened a factory in Shenley Road in 1908, on a site near Hanson's Tea Room, now part of Borehamwood Shopping Centre. Entire families from Italy, who knew Mr Cambi, came to live and work in Borehamwood.

Years later the town still has a large Italian community, and there is even a retirement home in Shenley, Villa Scalabrini, which was set up to cater for elderly Italians.

Anne Watts' grandfather, Piepro Dedli'Innocenti, came to Britain in 1912 after Mr Cambi told him about the factory. He brought three brothers and both of his parents with him, and they soon settled into life in Britain.

Most of the family worked at the factory, where Mr Dedli'Innocenti, a pharmacist, invented a system to bleach the hats white and give them a unique glossy sheen, which no other Panama Hat had.

The hats were made in Ecuador, where people have been making sombreros out of the Toquilla plant since the 16th Century.

They were shipped to Britain to be bleached and given their distinctive brilliant white look.

During World War One Mr Dedli'Innocenti was called up by the Italian Army, which was allied to Britain.

"He came back to Borehamwood after the war, and after that they all married English girls," said Mrs Watts.

Mrs Watts from Furzehill Road said her relatives moved into houses throughout Borehamwood and Elstree, including Barnet Lane, Theobald Street, Cardinal Avenue and Drayton Road.

The factory, however, did not remain a part of Borehamwood. It closed in 1925, and in 1927 the buildings were cleared to make way for the Keystone Knitting Mills, which made pure silk seamed stockings and quality lingerie.

Panamas had become wildly popular two years earlier, when US President Theodore Roosevelt was photographed wearing one when paying a visit to the Panama Canal building project.

English royals including King Edward VII, something of a rebel in his day, also sported the hat. It soon became a summer favourite in Britain, and is still widely used today.