Umfry Spikkle was the grandson of Corksnout Spikkle. When he was young, he was a simple type, illiterate and not overburdened with knowledge. However, few beasts remarked upon this, because he was a big hedgehog of prodigious strength: this enabled him to hold the position of Bellringer. The only beast physically bigger than him was his grandfather, whom he eventually outgrew.