Evelyn Ferrar was the daughter of Hartley Travers Ferrar, geologist on the British National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-04, and Gladys Helen (née Anderson). In 1942 she married Lachlan Maxwell Forbes.Forbes lived in several countries throughout her life, including Egypt and New Zealand. In New Zealand she studied natural sciences with a focus on geology and botany at the University at Victoria College. After graduating she carried our geological fieldwork in South Africa and Zimbabwe.