Corfield was born in Shenstone, Staffordshird, England, on 21 November 1912. Her parents were Thomas and Mary Aston. She had a younger brother, Tommy, and a sister, Rhoda. The family ran the village grocery store and bakery. They delivered by horse and trap (carriage) to local villages.

When she left the local private school, she travelled daily by train from Shenstone to Birmingham where she worked as a typist. When World War II begun, she started working for British Motor Company, who by now were building tanks for the forces. At the end of the war, she commenced work at The Post Office. On 20 September 1947, she married Douglas Corfield. The couple had no children. They lived in Birmingham together but retired to Rochdale where Sylvia had a cousin.

In 1972, at the age of 60, she retired from her job at The Post Office. After her husband’s death in 2008, she lived independently until 2019. After a few stays in hospital, she moved to Highfield House in Heywood, Rochdale in January 2020.

Corfield passed away at Highfield House Care Home in Heywood, Greater Manchester, England, on 18 December 2022.