"Ma" Malpas (ocassionally known as "Fanny") was born in Abergavenny in September, 1894, and her secondary education was at the County and Intermediate School in Abergavenny from 1909 to 1913.

In 1915, she started teacher training at the Salisbury Diocesan Training College, and left in 1917 with her Board of Education Certificate.

She appears to have moved straight to South Shields, where she spent her first 13 years of teaching at the various Westoe schools. She started at the Westoe Boys' Elementary in August, 1917, which she left in December 1926. Just over two years later, in March 1929, she joined the Westoe Central Boys' School, in August of 1929 she moved to the Westoe Central Girls' School, and in February 1930 she went back to the Westoe Boys' Elementary.

Then, on 1st January, 1931, she joined the South Shields High School, where she stayed through the move to Harton, but for only two years - on 31st August, 1938 she left to teach at Cleadon Park Junior School.

Possibly as a result of the teacher shortages during the war, she returned to the Boys' High School on 11th September, 1941, where she remained until August, 1947, when she moved to the High School for Girls.