THE son of the man who designed the legendary Spitfire fighter plane has died following a fall at his home in Lower Slaughter, near Bourton.

Dr Gordon Mitchell, 88, passed away a fortnight after the fall.

He dedicated his life to campaigning to raise the profile of his late father, Reginald Joseph (‘RJ’) Mitchell, who he believed was an unsung hero, despite having designed the aircraft that played a crucial role in defeating Germany’s Luftwaffe during the Second World War.

Born in Southampton in 1920, Mr Mitchell was only 17 years old when his father died of cancer in 1937, aged 42.

Gordon Mitchell spent his entire career working as an animal husbandry scientist at Reading University, having obtained a Ph.d in biology while studying there.

He retired to Lower Slaughter in 1986 to enjoy the peacefulness of the Cotswold countryside.

Mr Mitchell joined Lower Slaughter Parish Council and The Probus Group and became treasurer at the village’s parish church.

He regularly gave talks about his father and wrote a book, RJ Mitchell – Schooldays to Spitfire, detailing the creation of the iconic aircraft.

Mr Mitchell had been lobbying to get Southampton Airport renamed RJ Mitchell Airport, a campaign that will be continued by the Spitfire Society.

His son, David, said: “He fought a lifelong campaign to seek recognition for his father.

“He was quite successful in his campaign.

“He achieved more than he thought he had achieved.”

Describing Mr Mitchell as a family man, David added: “He was just happy being in the house and the garden.

“He was a wonderful father and grandfather and will be sadly missed by us all.”

Mr Mitchell’s wife, Alison, died in 2005.

They leave two other children, Adrian and Penny, along with two grandchildren, Nick and Emma.