Anne Amelia Hadfield grew up in north-west London, where she excelled in science and mathematics at Henrietta Barnett Girls' Grammar School. She later studied medicine at a London hospital, where she met her future husband, Hugh. They qualified together in 1970 and were soon married. After working as pre-registrars in London, they spent a year volunteering as junior doctors in Quetta, Pakistan, under the auspices of the Church Missionary Society. There they formed lifelong friendships and returned to the UK with an appreciation for the NHS and a determination to work in its service. Anne was one of the first cohort of new female doctors and worked in community medicine for several years, while Hugh worked as a general practitioner in Winchester. In 1978 the couple set up a husband and wife general practice in Highfield, Southampton which flourished and later moved to Mulberry.