In 1947 a British Gliding Association

British Gliding Association

The British Gliding Association is the governing body for gliding in the United Kingdom. Gliding in the United Kingdom operates through 85 gliding clubs which have 2,310 gliders and 9,462 full flying members , though a further 17,000 people have gliding air-experience flights each year.-History:A...

 design competition, for a two seat sailplane, was won by Hugh Kendall, Miles' assistant test pilot. It was a side-by-side two seater with a 60 ft. span, a butterfly tail and an aspect ratio of 18.

Development

The M.76 project was undertaken by the plastics division of F. G. Miles, Ltd. for the British Gliding Association. The design was to have included an experimental wing. The glider, known as the M.76, was a development of Hugh Kendall's Crabpot I, which gained first place in the 1947 B.G.A. 2-seat design contest.
Financial backing for the project came from the Miles company, the Kemsley Flying Trust, and the Ministry of Supply

Ministry of Supply

The Ministry of Supply was a department of the UK Government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. There was, however, a separate ministry responsible for aircraft production and the Admiralty retained...

.
The wing was to be made from a phenolic/asbestos fibre material stabilized with a paper honeycomb, the manufacturing technique being based on the vacuum moulding process pioneered by the Royal Aircraft Establishment

Royal Aircraft Establishment

The Royal Aircraft Establishment , was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence , before finally losing its identity in mergers with other institutions.The first site was at Farnborough...

 at Farnborough. The 60-ft span wing was to be made in two semi-span sections each consisting of one 30-ft moulding, considered to be the largest one-piece moulded phenolic/asbestos structures manufactured at that time.
Elliotts of Newbury

Elliotts of Newbury

Elliotts of Newbury was a British company that became well known for manufacturing gliders-Beginnings and World War II:The company was founded by Samuel Elliott in 1870 as a joinery works as "Elliott’s Moulding and Joinery Company Ltd" It produced ammunition boxes during the First World War made by...

 became responsible for further development of Hugh Kendall's design under the type number EoN Type 9 K-1. The Newbury firm constructed the wings in wood, the moulded wing process having been abandoned. Elliots also made minor alterations to the wooden fuselage previously built by Miles, and the machine became known as the K.l.

Designer

Hugh McLennan Kendall flew with the Fleet Air Arm

Fleet Air Arm

The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...

 during WW2, and was involved in air-racing prior to and after the war. He was the Chief Test Pilot for Handley Page (Reading), formerly Miles Aircraft Ltd., and as such flight tested many types. He flew the maiden flight of the Mamba powered H.P/Miles Marathon 2.
As well as designing the Crabpot, Kendall was the designer and test pilot for the Somers-Kendall SK-1, Britain's first ever light jet. The maiden flight was made by Hugh Kendall on 8 October 1955.
After he ended his test flying career, he joined Shell-Mex and B.P Ltd as technical liaison with the aircraft industry and airlines. He died in 1999.