Samuel Needham was born in Great Limber, Lincolnshire on the 16th August 1885, to Septimus and Mary Needham. His father was one of Lord Yarborough's grooms and Sam was to follow in his fathers footsteps. When he left the Brockesby Stables, he worked in several other hunting stables, including the Duke of Westminster's and the Earl of Fitzwilliam's.