Hello All,

I thought this would be a useful addition to our site. This information has been gathered from various sources including online archives, biographies and The Richard Burton Museum. The non-autograph writings are mostly a work of compilation. Images are used for educational purposes only.

Richard Burton was born Richard Walter Jenkins on November 10th, 1925, in a house at 2 Dan-y-bont in Pontrhydyfen, Glamorgan, Wales. He was the twelfth of thirteen children born into the Welsh-speaking miner family of Richard Walter Jenkins Sr. (1876–1957), and Edith Maude Jenkins (née Thomas; 1883–1927).

At the age of two Richard's mother died, and he was raised by sister Cecilia,"Cis", and her husband Elfred James, shown below C. 1929 at 73 Caradoc Street, Taibach, a suburban district in Port Talbot. Richard is on the left. Richard later said of "Cis" "When my mother died she, my sister, had become my mother, and more mother to me than any mother could ever have been ... I was immensely proud of her ... she felt all tragedies except her own."

Below is 73 Caradoc Street, Port Talbot, as it appears today.

Below is a rare image of a very young Richard, already displaying a serious expression.

From the age of five to eight, Richard was educated at the Eastern Primary School while he attended the Boys' segment of the same school from eight to twelve years old. He took a scholarship exam for admission into Port Talbot Secondary School in March 1937 and passed it. Richard's 1938-38 Port Talbot Secondary School First Fifteen Rugby photograph, rugby jersey and 1940 Port Talbot school photograph with a detail are reproduced below:

Below is a look into 15 year old Richard's February 1940 diary. These were published in 2012. This is the earliest example of his hand I have seen. If you click twice you can easily read the entries.

Below is Richard's wartime ration card. Richard's birthdate is noted inside.

By the early 1940's Richard had been introduced to theatre director Philip Burton, his schoolmaster. In 1941, Richard had left school and would tears later join the RAF as a cadet in 1944, where he would again encounter Philip Burton as his squadron commander. At this time Richard also joined the Taibach Youth Centre, a drama group founded by Meredith Jones and led by Leo Lloyd, a steel worker and avid amateur thespian, who taught Richard the fundamentals of acting. This relationship would mark Richard's first performances.

Below is the curtain call for the October 1943 Port Talbot YMCA amatuer production of Pygmalion - Richard, as Professor Henry Higgins, is at center.

This performance caught the eye of dramatist Emlyn Williams which led to a small role of the lead character's elder brother, Glan, in Williams play The Druid's Rest. The play debuted at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool on 22 November 1943. This was Burton's first professional role.

A rare still taken by John Vickers of a newly 18 year old Burton as Glan is reproduced below.

In late 1943, Philip Burton attempted to adopt Richard, but was unable due to his age (20 days short of the 21 year requirement). As a result, Richard became Philip's legal ward and changed his surname to "Richard Burton", after Philip's own surname, by means of deed poll, which Richard's father accepted.

The November 26th, 1943 London Gazette carried a notice that actor "RWJ" had changed his name to Richard Burton.  In January 1944, The Druids Rest went on to St. Martins in London, and Burton was paid ten pounds a week for playing the role (equivalent to 701 pounds in 2024), which was "three times what the miners got." James Redfern of the New Statesman took notice of Burton's performance and wrote "In a wretched part, Richard Burton showed exceptional ability." Burton noted that single sentence from Redfern changed his life.

Burton won a six month scholarship to Exeter College, Oxford. In late 1944, Burton successfully completed his six-month scholarship at Exeter College, Oxford, and went to the RAF classification examinations held in Torquay to train as a pilot. He was disqualified for pilot training because his eyesight was below par, and was classified as a navigator trainee. His lifelong habits of smoking and drinking gained traction at this point. Burton served in a Wiltshire RAF hospital as an Aircraftman First Class and then in Manitoba, Canada, as an Instructor. He was discharged on December 16th, 1947.

Richard Burton, RAF, C.1945.

In 1948 Burton signed his first contract - 500 pounds a year. He moved to London and began establishing contacts which led to his first film, The Last Days of Dolwyn in 1949. Burton was praised for his "acting fire, manly bearing and good looks" and film critic Philip French of The Guardian called it an "impressive movie debut". After marrying Sybil Williams on February 5th, 1949, in Kensington, Burton moved into a flat at 6 Lyndhurst Road, Hampstead NW3, where he lived from 1949 to 1956.

Below is 6 Lyndhurst Road, Hampstead as it appears today.

Below is a photocard, perhaps his first, attributed to Angus McBean and signed horizontally in the white area as intended. Perhaps 1948, after discharge. 

In March 1948 Burton appeared in The Lady's Not for Burning by Christopher Fry. The lead roles were played by Gielgud himself, and Pamela Brown, while Burton played a supporting role as Richard alongside the then-relatively unknown actress Claire Bloom. Gielgud was initially uncertain about selecting Burton and asked him to come back the following day to repeat his audition. Burton got the part the second time he auditioned for the role. He was paid £15 a week for the part. Bloom recalled Burton's natural way of acting, noting that "he just was" and went further by saying "He was recognisably a star, a fact he didn't question."

Below is Burton's autograph alongside Sir John Gielgud in the playbill from The Lady's Not for Burning at Theatre Royal in Brighton.

 And now, we have a full ALS from February 8th, 1949.

In 1949, Burton appeared in the film Now Barrabas, By 1950 Burton had appeared in over 25 productions, some as far away as New York City, as well as 6 films and BBC TV productions.

Below is a November 1950 playbill for the New York production of The Lady's not for Burning signed by Richard Burton, John Gielgud and David Evans. There there were nine curtain calls on press night. The play ran on Broadway through March 1951, and received the New York Drama Critics' Circle award as Best Foreign Play of 1950–51. By 1950 Burton had appeared in over 25 productions, some as far away as New York City, as well as 6 films and BBC TV productions.

At this point, Burton was poised to take the stage at the Old Vic by storm to great acclaim, and hone his skills for the screen, first in the Uk and then abroad, for the upcoming decade. It is here that the next section, Part II, Stage and Screen, 1950-1960, will begin and this study will resume.

Richard Burton 1925 -1984 Signature Study Part II Stage and Screen ...