Dennis Barsotti was born on 4th August 1926, at St David’s hospital, Bangor, North Wales. His mother was Irene Barsotti and his father was Leonard Wood Rigg. At the time of Dennis’s birth his father was calling himself Leon Wood. On his birth certificate he was named as Dennis Barsotti. Dennis spent the first 5 years of his life travelling with his mother, who was performing around the country in theatre and music hall. It seems that there was no contact with his father until in late 1931 his mother Irene, took him to Costessey in Norfolk and left him there with his father. She then left for Malta by ship on 18th January 1932 and returned in March 1935, married and with a half sister to Dennis, named Geraldine Dawson.
From late 1931 until early 1934 Dennis lived with his father in a small wooden bungalow, with no toilet, just one bed and a small kitchen. He went to school locally but spent many evenings on his own as his father Leon was out playing in Bands or Orchestras. In May 1934 Leon was taken to hospital, and young 7 year old Dennis was left to fend for himself, though an elderly lady Mabel Glendenning who was a a friend of Leon through the Norwich Philharmonic looked after him and eventually arranged for him to be taken into the Barnardo’s children’s homes.
Dennis spent the next 10 years of his life in a variety of Barnardo homes around the country. Firstly, Stepney in 1934, then to Epsom in 1935, Bromborough, Birkenhead in 1937, Wretham Hall, Thetford in August 1939, Great Saxham, Bury St Edmunds in 1940 and then finally in October 1943 down to Chester House in Hackney. It was at Chester house aged 17 that he was used as an errand boy between the London Barnardo homes. Dennis then applied to leave and get work close to Mabel Glendenning in Norwich but she had died earlier that year so he was eventually offered farm work at Murcot near Broadway in Worcestershire where he started in April 1944, aged 17.
During the 10 years in the homes he had one visit from his mother in January 1936, where she took him out for afternoon tea and then did not see her ever again. She died in 1971. His father sent him a letter and some Cigarette cards in August 1937, but again he never saw his father again. He died in August 1940 in The Vale, Swainsthorpe, Norwich of dementia and kidney failure.
After about a month of hard labour on the farm at Murcot, Dennis transferred to market gardening in Badsey, where he lodged with a landlady in Aldington. His passion was cycling, and thought nothing of cycling 150 miles in a day trip. Dennis eventually met his future wife, Mary Dawn Hancox at a dance in Stratford on Avon in 1945 and then spent the next two years cycling the 16 miles each way every night just to see each other. Married in the small church in Badsey in February 1947, their first born Christopher Martin was born in October of the same year.