this instance by the incorporation of vital lessons learned from Supermarine's unsuccessful type 224 fighter". The quality of the design enabled the Spitfire to be continually improved throughout World War II. Illness and final years In 1933, Mitchell underwent a permanent colostomy to treat rectal cancer, which left him permanently disabled. Despite this, he continued to work on the Spitfire and a four-engined bomber, the Type 317. Unusually for an aircraft designer in those days, he took flying lessons. He obtained his pilot's licence and made his first solo flight in July 1934. In 1936 Mitchell was diagnosed again with cancer, and early the following year was forced by his illness to give up work. In his absence, his assistant Harold led the design team at Supermarine. Mitchell flew to Vienna for specialist treatment, and remained there for a month, but returned home after the treatment proved to be ineffective. He died at home in Portswood, Southampton, on 11 June 1937 at the age of 42. The quality of the flying boats designed by Mitchell for the RAF established him as the foremost aircraft designer in Britain. His obituary published in The Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1937 described him as "brilliant" and "one of the leading designers in the world." The Society paid tribute to their colleague, describing him as being "a quiet, subtle, not obvious genius" who had "an intuitive capacity for grasping the essentials, getting to the point and staying there." Smith, became Chief Designer at Supermarine after Mitchell's death, said of him that "He was an inveterate drawer on drawings, particularly general arrangements,... [which were] usually accepted when the thing was redrawn." Posthumous recognition Mitchell's career was dramatised in the British 1942 film The First of the Few. He was portrayed by Leslie Howard, who also produced and directed the film. The Mitchell Memorial Youth Theatre, now known as Mitchell Arts Centre, was opened in Stoke-on-Trent in 1957 after was raised by public subscription. Butt Lane Junior School, was renamed as the Reginald Mitchell County Primary School in 1959, and Hanley High School was renamed Mitchell High School in 1989. The R J Mitchell Primary School at Hornchurch, originally named the Mitchell Junior School when it opened on 2 December 1968, is also named in his honour. Supermarine Spitfires piloted by Commonwealth and European airmen flew from RAF Hornchurch. In 1986 Mitchell was inducted