Graham-Little, Esmond Birch, 1915-1942

Graham-Little, Esmond Birch, son of Sir Ernest Gordon Graham-Little MD MP and Sarah Helen, d. of Maurice Kendall; b. 9 Apr. 1915; adm. Sept. 1928 (B); left July 1933; Corpus Christi Coll. Camb., matric. 1933, BA 1936; called to the Bar (Gray's Inn) May 1938; RAFVR 1940-1 (FO); killed on active service 10 June 1942.

Esmond Birch “Bep” Graham-Little was born at Marylebone, London on the 9th of April 1915 the only son of Sir Ernest Gordon Graham-Little MD, FRCP, MRCS MP and Lady Sarah Helen (nee Kendall) Graham–Little of 19, Upper Wimpole Street, Marylebone and of 1, St George’s Gardens, Lynwood Road, Epsom in Surrey. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Busby’s from September 1928 to July 1933. He was awarded the Goodenough Medal for Modern Languages in 1933. He matriculated for Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in 1933 where he read Engineering and graduated with a BA in 1936. He later trained as a barrister and was called to the Bar at Gray’s Inn in May 1938.
He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in May 1939 where he trained as a pilot and rose to the rank of Sergeant (754494) before being commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 7th of September 1940. He was promoted to Flying Officer on the 7th of September 1941.
On the 10th of June 1942, Esmond Graham-Little took off from RAF Castle Camps in Mosquito NF Mk IIF DD603 with his observer, Warrant Officer Wilfrid Arthur Clement Walters, for a night flying exercise. The aircraft had been undertaking Air Indication exercises at around 10,000 feet and when the exercise was completed it turned and went into a shallow dive down through cloud towards the base. The cloud was 10/10ths with tops at between 4,000 and 6,000 feet. It was flying over Stansted Mountfitchet in Essex when it disintegrated in mid air and crashed at Bentfield Bury near Bishops Stortford at 5.05pm, killing both men.
The wreckage was spread over a large area with the aircrafts forward section and starboard engine both catching fire and burning out on the ground.
His funeral took place on the 13th of June 1942.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Grays Inn and on the memorial at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
He is buried at Saffron Walden Cemetery Compt 39, Grave 10.

Flying Officer 85238; 157 Squadron, Royal Air Force

International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition

Prepared for import into AtoM by Westminster School Archive staff, 2019-2020. Updated by Bethany Duck, Archives Assistant, September 2022.

The Record of Old Westminsters: A biographical list of all those who are known to have been educated at Westminster School from Play 1919 to Election 1989, Volume 4, compiled by F.E. Pagan and H.E. Pagan, Padstow, 1992.

Westminster School Second World War Memorial by John C. Hamblin, 2022.