Shirley Stanley was born in Harrogate, the only child of Cecil Stanley Jones and May
Jones. She was educated at Belmont School for Girls. Shirley was good at sports and
enjoyed horse riding. At age 20, the family moved to live in Surrey.. Shirley worked
as a marketing assistant for ICI Fibres Division, promoting the sale of Terylene and
Crimplene until 1966. She married her husband, Brian in 1967 and continued working
as a medical secretary, retiring at age 75. In 2020, she and Brian moved back to live
Harrogate. She enjoys watercolour painting and joined a writers group