John Brooke-Little was born in Blackheath, Kent. His mother, Constance Egan, was the author of many children's stories including the "Epaminondas" books and the adventures of "Jummy the Baby Elephant". In the 1920s, Egan was the editor of "Home Chat". This helped to prepare her for future editorial duties with the Heraldry Society's journal, the "Coat of Arms" in the 1950s. She was the second wife of Raymond Brooke-Little, who worked as an electrical engineer. His paternal ancestors, the Littles, came from Wiltshire and may be traced in the parish registers of Biddestone back to the late seventeenth century. A pedigree of his family appears in the 1972 edition of "Burke's Landed Gentry" under the heading "Brooke-Little of Heyford House". Brooke-Little was educated at Clayesmore School, a progressive co-educational public school in Dorset. The school remained an important part of Brooke-Little's life, and he later sent his own children there. He oversaw the process of granting arms to the school while serving as chairman of its board of governors from 1971 to 1983.