Dolly Yates was born Dorothy Mary Robson the third daughter to Tot & Ina Robson on August 30, 1919 in Durham County, England. She grew up in a working class family and loved going to school. The age of 14 was a turning point for Dolly when she responded to the claim of Christ on her life. From a young teenager she began speaking in public about her faith and continues to this day. She married her only sweetheart George in 1940, and a son was born in 1941. When her son Paul grew he married and shortly after came to live with his wife in the U.S.A. In her thirties she learned to play the piano.