(1605–1669), Sir Francis (1646–1674), and Alexander (c.1670–1705). In 1805 the family name became Leyborne Popham, under whom much of the house was refurbished in 1810. The Leyborne Popham family owned the estate until 1929, when it was purchased by Sir Ernest Salter Wills Bt, who was a member of the well-known Wills tobacco dynasty founded by Henry Overton Wills I as W.D. & H.O. Wills Ltd, in 1787. Sir Ernest was a major shareholder and a director of the Imperial Tobacco company, which also owned the nearby Ramsbury Manor. Second World War During the Second World War, the house was requisitioned by the Government for use by the military. In 1942-43 the house was the headquarters of the 34th Army Tank Brigade, 34th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom) commanded by Brigadier Noel Tetley. In September 1943, the US 101st Airborne Division took over part of the house, and it became home to regimental staff, regimental headquarters company, and headquarters company of the 1st Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The house provided office space and sleeping quarters for officers of the 506th, with the best rooms being allocated to Col. Robert F. Sink, regimental commander, and Lt. Col. Charles H. Chase, his executive officer. The colonel used the library as his office, and a memorial plaque can be seen today in this room. From airfields in this area, including Ramsbury just to the west, the Airborne Division took off during the night of 5/6 June 1944 as part of the invasion of Normandy. Easy Company from this regiment have become famous through the book and TV mini-series Band of Brothers. All other ranks lived in Nissen huts built alongside the main drive between the house and the east lodge. During the Second World War (and during Sir Ernest Wills's tenure as HM's Lord Lieutenant for the County of Wiltshire, 1930–1942) King George VI paid a visit to Littlecote in 1943. The King was acquainted with Sir Ernest since his great nephew, Major John Lycett Wills of the Lifeguards, had married King George's niece, the Hon. Jean Constance Elphinstone. Post-War After the war, ownership reverted to the Wills family. Sir Ernest's younger son, Major George Seton Wills, inherited the estate in 1958 and gifted it to his only son and heir, David Seton Wills, in 1966. Following the latter's succession to the Baronetcy in 1983, he sold the house to the entrepreneur Peter