[6] In 1895, the family moved to St Mary Bourne, a village in Hampshire with Roman and Saxon roots, which sparked her growing interest in history.
Wishing to further her own education and being barred from attaining a degree because of Cambridge's restriction on women, she enrolled at Cresham College to prepare for the entrance examinations of the University of London.
After completion of four semesters, which were supervised by William Henry Hudson, she obtained a chancellor's diploma in literature from London University and as valedictorian in her class received both the Gilchrist Medal and the Churton Collins Memorial Prize.
[4][12] Both of these works were encouraged by William Henry Hudson, who continued to serve as a mentor for Royds, securing a position for her as an assistant marker for London University Extension lectures.
[4][14] In 1914, while on holiday in Germany, World War I broke out and she made a difficult escape from behind enemy lines by way of Denmark to return to England and her post at Wycombe School.
[4] Joining with volunteers from the Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service (SWH) en route to Salonika, she was hired as an orderly; however, she was quickly moved into a clerical position because of her skill with French and German.
[4] She also joined the Union of Democratic Control as a part-time paid organiser[23] and within a few months was hired in 1919 as the full-time secretary of the WILPF's London office.
[26] In 1937, she succeeded Cornelia Ramondt-Hirschmann as one of the three joint co-chairs of the international WILPF and served through the duration of World War II along with Gertrude Baer and Clara Ragaz.
[30] During this same time frame, she published book reviews and articles in a variety of Quaker journals including The Friend, The Wayfarer and The World Outlook.
[37] She published Peacemaking in Africa (1932), which argued for a disinterested third party to assist in settling disputes and pointed out that so-called "civilized nations" had armed the Africans, which in turn led to wars.