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Richard Burton biography
He was born Richard Walter Jenkins in Pontrhydyfen on 10 November 1925, the 12th of 13 children. The Jenkins family was working class and Welsh speaking, and his father worked in the mines.
Burton's mother died in childbirth in 1927; her sister Cecilia and her husband Elfed brought him up in their Port Talbot house.
His father was largely absent during his childhood, though Burton's brother Ifor, 19 years his senior, became an important influence.
He displayed a talent for English and Welsh literature at school, though his main passion was for sports.
His schoolmaster, Philip Burton, became something of a mentor, encouraging him to take part in school stage productions.
Early on he displayed a strong speaking and singing voice, and won an Eisteddfod prize as a boy soprano.
At 16 Burton left school and found work in a wartime co-operative, exchanging coupons for supplies.
After joining the Air Training Corps' Port Talbot squadron as a cade
