Alastair Hugh Graham (27 June 1904 – 6 October 1982) was an honorary attaché in Athens and Cairo, an Oxford friend of

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

, and, according to Waugh's letters, one of his "romances". He is, together with

Hugh Lygon Hugh Patrick Lygon (2 November 190419 August 1936) was the second son of William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp, and is often believed to be the inspiration for Lord Sebastian Flyte in Evelyn Waugh's ''Brideshead Revisited''. He was a friend of Waugh's ...

, considered the main inspiration for

Sebastian Flyte ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...

in ''

Brideshead Revisited ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...

''.

Biography

Alastair Hugh Graham was born on 27 June 1904 to Hugh Graham (1860-1921), of Barford House, Barford, Warwickshire, and Jessie, daughter of Andrew Low, of

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

. His father was the younger son of Sir Frederick Ulric Graham, 3rd Baronet (1820–1888), of the Graham Baronets of Netherby in Cumberland, and Lady Jane Hermione Seymour (1832–1909), daughter of

Edward Seymour, 12th Duke of Somerset Edward Adolphus Seymour (later St. Maur), 12th Duke of Somerset, etc., (20 December 180428 November 1885), styled Lord Seymour until 1855, was a British Whig aristocrat and politician, who served in various cabinet positions in the mid-19th ce ...

. Jessie Graham, a cotton heiress, would later appear as Lady Circumference in ''Decline and Fall'' and as Mrs. Kent-Cumberland in ''Winner Takes All'' both by Evelyn Waugh. Alastair Hugh Graham attended a day school in Leamington Spa and was at

Wellington College, Berkshire Wellington College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the village of Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. Wellington is a registered charity and currently educates roughly 1,200 pupils, between the ages of 13 a ...

for a very short time, leaving at fifteen. He subsequently studied at

Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

,Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003 At Oxford, he met Evelyn Waugh around Christmas 1923 or slightly before. There, Graham was part of the

Hypocrites' Club The Hypocrites' Club was one of the student clubs at Oxford University in England. Its motto in Greek, from an Olympian Ode by Pindar, was ''Water is best''. This led to the members being called ''Hypocrites'', due to the fact that beer, wine an ...

with Waugh. Graham sent Waugh a nude photo of himself near a waterfall, asking Waugh to ''"Come and drink with me somewhere"''. The Graham family's early 19th-century country house, Barford House, Barford, Warwickshire, between Warwick and Stratford-upon Avon, was where Alastair entertained Waugh as a guest. Graham was Waugh's closest friend from 1924 to 1929. In ''

'', Waugh has Charles Ryder revisiting Brideshead Castle, and remembering "I had been there before, first with Sebastian more than twenty years ago on a cloudless day in June...". According to Philip Eade and others, Waugh is here remembering his own love affair with Graham, started at Barford House in 1923 when Graham was 19. In his memoirs, Waugh stated that Graham was the inspiration of Lord Sebastian Flyte even more than Hugh Lygon. In the manuscript of ''Brideshead Revisited'', the name "Alastair" sometimes occurs instead of "Sebastian". In Waugh's autobiography, ''A Little Learning... an autobiography'' (1964), Graham appears under the name of Hamish Lennox, and Waugh said of him he was "the friend of my heart". Evelyn Waugh, centre, with Alastair Graham and Elizabeth Harman (the future Lady Elizabeth Longford), in 1904

Evelyn Waugh, centre, with Alastair Graham and Elizabeth Harman (the future Lady Elizabeth Longford), in 1904

When Waugh left Oxford one term short of the degree requirements in August 1924, he went to live with Graham in a caravan in a field near Beckley, and from there they went on holiday to Ireland. It was after this trip that Graham converted to Roman Catholicism (September 1924). When Graham went to visit his sister and her husband in Kenya in mid-September 1924, the friendship between Graham and Waugh took a step back, but in August 1926, Graham, his mother and Waugh went to Scotland; and on their return, Graham and Waugh went to France together with

Richard Plunket Greene Richard George Hubert Plunket Greene (1 July 1901 – 25 March 1978) was an English racing motorist, a jazz musician and author. Biography Richard George Hubert Plunket Greene was born on 1 July 1901, the son of Harry Plunket Greene, an Irish bar ...

. Around this time, Graham, who owned a small printing press and was then apprenticed at the Shakespeare Head Press, printed Waugh's essay ''P.R.B.: An Essay on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood 1847–54''. Alastair Hugh Graham was an honorary attaché in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

between 1927 and 1929, where Waugh visited him for the Christmas holidays. Graham wrote to his friend

Claud Cockburn Francis Claud Cockburn ( ; 12 April 1904 – 15 December 1981) was a British journalist. His saying "believe nothing until it has been officially denied" is widely quoted in journalistic studies, but he did not claim credit for origin ...

on a number of occasions during this time. In Greece, Graham lived with another attaché,

Mark Ogilvie-Grant Charles Randolph Mark Ogilvie-Grant (15 March 1905 – 13 February 1969) was a British diplomat and a botanist and one of the earliest members of the Bright Young Things. Despite his earliest frivolous past, he became a hero during the 1940–19 ...

. In 1929, both were transferred to

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

with Vivian Cornelius until 1933. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Graham participated in the Dunkirk evacuation, joined the

Royal Observer Corps The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was a civil defence organisation intended for the visual detection, identification, tracking and reporting of aircraft over Great Britain. It operated in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 Decembe ...

and was a liaison officer with the US Navy. From 1937 he lived privately – because of his homosexuality – on the Welsh coast, at Plas-y-Wern Lodge, Gilfachrheda, moving subsequently to a house in nearby in

New Quay New Quay ( cy, Cei Newydd) is a seaside town (and electoral ward) in Ceredigion, Wales, with a resident population of around 1,200 people, reducing to 1,082 at the 2011 census. Located south-west of Aberystwyth on Cardigan Bay with a harbour a ...

itself. He bought a yacht called The Osprey and was a member of the New Quay Yacht Club, as well as president of the New Quay branch of the RNLI. He was on familiar terms with Dylan Thomas, another New Quay resident, and appeared as a prosecution witness when Capt Richard Killick was accused of attempting to murder Dylan Thomas. He was the original of Lord Cut-Glass in ''

Under Milk Wood ''Under Milk Wood'' is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, commissioned by the BBC and later adapted for the stage. A film version, ''Under Milk Wood'' directed by Andrew Sinclair, was released in 1972, and another adaptation of ...

''. Graham died in

Machynlleth Machynlleth () is a market town, community and electoral ward in Powys, Wales and within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads. At the 2001 Census it had a pop ...

Hospital in October 1982 from cancer of the pancreas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Alastair Hugh 1904 births 1982 deaths LGBT people from England LGBT Roman Catholics Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Younger sons of baronets Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in Wales 20th-century LGBT people British expatriates in Greece British expatriates in Egypt