Gladys Aylward was born in Edmonton, London.
Gladys May Aylward was born on February 24, 1902, in Edmonton, London. She was the second child of a working-class family. Despite financial constraints, her upbringing was steeped in love and religious devotion, which greatly influenced her future endeavors as a missionary. Her early life was marked by determination and ambition, traits pivotal to her subsequent journey to China.