Early Life
She was the eldest child of Guy Vivian Metcalfe, a railway clerk with the Southern Railway at Waterloo station, and Gwendoline Annie, née Reed. Her family were a typical lower middle-class of the time, without a bathroom, and used her father's Southern Railway privilege tickets to get them to their most ambitious holiday destination, Cornwall.
She excelled at elocution and art at the local county school, and formed a passionate love of the radio at home. She joined the Children's Hour radio circle, and entered competitions which entitled the winners to visit Broadcasting House, headquarters of the BBC. She excelled at school dramatics, and once played Queen Victoria.
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