The Second World War left the Catholic Truth Society (CTS) in a parlous state. Much of its stock of popular pamphlets, for sale in racks at the back of churches, had been destroyed and the society was running at a heavy loss. In 1949, it turned to a former intelligence officer with no previous experience in publishing – before the war he had been a commercial traveller selling cash telegraph systems to department stores – to turn its fortunes around.

Tom Rittner, austere and methodical but with an astute eye for the creative opportunity, was the man for the job. The CTS went into bible publishing, undercutting its rivals and discovering the possibilities of the African market, especially in Nigeria.