Betty Randles was born on Douglas, Isle of Man in 1928. She left school at 14 to become an usher.  She lived in Partington, Greater Manchester, where she was active in its (welfare benefits) claimant’s union and became one of the workers in its People’s Rights office. She took part in the Lifetimes project, in which she got to document some of her life story, along with her husband Eric Randles.