Yvonne was born in 1947 in Guyana, South America. In 1960 her father who worked as an arc welder came to the UK. He initially settled in Manchester until he went to work for Massey Ferguson in Birmingham. Yvonne came to the UK in 1964 aged 16 to join her mother, father and siblings. Her aunt Iris, one of two of her Aunts already working in the UK as nurses, encouraged her to become a nurse. She started as and trained as a state enrolled nurse. During her career she worked as a nurse at Crumpsall Hospital, The Northern Hospital (Cheetham Hill Road), The Jewish Hospital and Ancoats Hospital until her retirement in 2011.
