Celia Syred studied at the Cheltenham School of Art and subsequently won a scholarship to the Royal College of Arts in London. She taught embroidery and fabric printing at colleges and art schools in England and Wales from 1934 to 1955. After coming to Australia with her English-born Australian husband they lived in Sydney then toured the country by caravan.
Syred's first stories for children had a contemporary rural setting but her later works were historical fiction reflecting her strong interest in European and Australian history.