Rathmell was born in
Liverpool and attended
Liverpool College of Art from 1929 to 1933 and returned to education when she studied dress design at
Cardiff College of Art between 1957 and 1959. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Rathmell was a lecturer in both fine art and dress design at
Newport College of Art and was also a costume designer with the Monmouthshire Youth Theatre. ==References==