Dorothy Alexander was born on 7 August 1938 in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, the third of six children[1]. One of her siblings was Neville Alexander. Since her father was disabled, the Cape Education Department allowed her mother to become a permanent teacher. (At the time, married women were not usually permitted to hold permanent positions in government employment.) Alexander was brought up in a strict Catholic household, and completed her Junior Certificate at the Holy Rosary Convent, Cradock in 1953.

Reverend Dr Simon Gqubule was born on 18 February 1928 at a place near Cookhouse, Transkei (now Eastern Cape). His family did not have a lot of money; his father earned two pounds and five shillings a month which was not enough to support the family and put him through school. However, his Chaplain managed to arrange a bursary for him and it was through this that he attended a teaching college.