[1] She was born in London on 3 January 1895, the eldest of three daughters of police officer John Watts and his wife Caroline, née Poole, a police matron.
[2] During World War I, she became an administrative assistant at the Ministry of Food, serving for a period as the private secretary to the Director of Oils and Fats.
[3] Watts passed the British Institute of Chartered Accountants' exam in 1924.
Peat and Co. After receiving a practising certificate in April 1925, she briefly served in Homersham & Watts with Miriam Homersham, before setting up her own firm, E. Watts & Co, which mostly provided tax advice.
The couple hyphenated their surnames but Watts continued practicing under her maiden name.