GORDON Mitchell, the son of Spitfire designer RJ Mitchell, has died aged 88.

Dr Mitchell, best known for campaigning to raise the profile of his father, passed away on Friday after falling at his Cotswolds home a fortnight ago.

Born in Southampton in 1920, he joined the RAF himself during the war and worked in the Air Sea Rescue Division.

The father of three penned a book, Schooldays to Spitfire, which chronicles the creation of his father’s legendary fighter plane.