Dorothy Meadows was born in 1913 in her family home at London House, 3 High Street, Stony Stratford. Her father, William Walter Meadows, ran his drapery business from the same premises.

The Meadows family attended St Giles church. Dorothy can recall her father's role as Sunday School Superintendent. The Sunday School lessons were held in the school on the other side of the road from the church and Mr Meadows would escort his pupils to morning service after their lesson.

'Sunday Best' was certainly expected for church attendance in the early 1900s. Dorothy remembers her father's Sunday outfit included "his silk top hat (called toppers), a waistcoat and gold pocket watch."
Dorothy was christened in St Giles by Reverend Henry Last and was confirmed by the Bishop of Buckingham in 1927 having been in the confirmation classes of Reverend Eric Steer.
In 1928, Dorothy responded to an invitation to attend a Mission to Youth which was led by the Reverend W.J.G. Bartlett. Dorothy refered to this Mission as "a call to suffering'' and it certainly had a great impact on Dorothy's life. After many years training and preparation, Dorothy left for Africa in 1944, travelling on a cargo ship, to take up her post as a teacher in the mission schools in Tanganyika.
Dorothy has written several books about her lifetime experiences, inlcuding her early years in Stony Stratford.