Margery Evelyn Hawker was born on 26 March 1924 in Norwich, the daughter of William Frederick Hawker, a civil servant in the Post Office, and Mabel Lilian Hurn. She was educated at College School in Norwich and Norwich High School. Margery came to Girton College, Cambridge in 1942 and took the Natural Sciences Tripos in 1944. Between 1944 and 1946, she worked as a research chemist at Pest Control Ltd in Harston, Cambridgeshire. Margery married James Widdrington Warburg on 17th of June 1946. After her marriage she did not work but her interest in botany remained and she was a keen gardener. [Notes drawn from Girton College Register Vol. I and from information from Margery's family.]