Veronika Davis (née Lengyel) was born in Hungary in 1937 and, at the age of seven, escaped with her family to Bavaria during the war. In 1948, the family came to England. She was educated in boarding school in Chew Magna and Skipton. She became a domestic science teacher and later taught shorthand, typing, and business studies. She also lectured in computer programming for I.C.L. In her spare time, she did silversmithing, ending up working for the silversmith Roy Flewin. At the age of 45 she took up nursing and married John Davis. She has two children and four grandchildren.