Beryl Lewis was born in Boscombe, near Bournemouth, in 1896. She served for two years in the Red Cross VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) during the First World War. She then came up to Girton College to read Economics and History 1917-1920 (Part I Economics 1919, Part II History 1920). For much of her subsequent career, she taught history and economics, including periods in London (1921-24), Hong Kong (1924-30) and Canada (early 1930s). She also worked for the Ministry of Economic Warfare during the Second World War and for UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration) in Germany after the war including Belsen camp. She then returned to teaching and taught at Bedgebury Park School in Kent until she retired in 1958. In retirement she assisted the Salisbury Citizens Advice Bureau until she was 80. She died in 1992 aged 97.