Ralph's family came from Yorkshire, but she was brought up in Bristol, attending Fairfield Grammar School.
[2] Ralph joined Bristol Archive Office as a clerk in 1937 before being rapidly promoted to the position of City Archivist in 1939.
Ralph herself narrowly escaped death during the War when her own house was blown away by a direct hit from a German bomb.
[2] After World War II, Ralph served as the first female chair of the Society of Archivists (1957–1960).
In 2017, the Bristol Post named Ralph among the city's top 100 women.