Her mother subsequently married Winton Fraser, and they had a son, Sidney. Just prior to World War II, the family moved to Bangor, North Wales, where Irene was baptized in 1939.
तिला आणखी दोन बहिणी होत्या आणि तिचे वडील पहिल्या महायुद्धादरम्यान वारले होते.