William Rigg was born into a humble Cumbrian family in 1911, eventually becoming one of 13 children. His mother died when he was three and by the age of five he was having to put up with a stepmother's bullying. Often sleeping three in a bed and sharing shoes with his siblings because there weren't enough pairs to go round, he scarcely knew what it was to eat a decent meal. He would scrounge leftovers, steal turnips and potatoes to supplement the family menu and eat hawthorn and nettle leaves from the hedgerows. A bright child, he had to pass up the chance to go to grammar school because...