Dorothy May Marshall, the daughter of Charles Henry and Helen Cameron (née Grant) Marshall, attended Adelaide High School and then Adelaide University. She joined the South Australian Education Department and taught at Gawler (1923-1924) and Woodville (1924-1934) primary schools. In 1935 she participated in an exchange position program and taught at Bishop Goodwin Girls' and Margaret Sewell Central schools Carlisle, England. Upon her return to Adelaide she taught at Croydon Central School (girls' department).
In 1940 Dorothy Marshall was elected to the advisory council of the South Australian Women Teachers' Guild and the next year she was appointed adviser for vocational training to the Education Department. Later she assisted Adelaide Miethke with the Schools Patriotic Fund of South Australia and then joined the Department of Labour and National Service (on loan) where she became foundation secretary of the Women's War Service Council.

In July 1942 the Commonwealth government appointed her state superintendent of the Australian Women's Land Army. In this position she controlled major policy implementation, selected and managed headquarters staff, appointed field staff and supervised women volunteers on the land.

Dorothy Marshall joined the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) as a camp welfare officer helping displaced persons in the British zone in Germany in 1945. By June 1946 she was director-general and took charge of every camp in the zone.

After the UNRRA was dissolved in 1947, she joined the International Refugee Organisation (IRO) becoming child welfare officer and later chief of the child welfare division. On 5 June 1952 Dorothy Marshall was appointed to the Order of the British Empire - Member (Civil) for her services to child welfare. Upon completion of the IRO operations in the British zone she returned to Adelaide and was appointed to the Department of Agriculture as an organiser of the Women's Agricultural Bureau by the South Australia government.

Sources used to compile this entry: Alexander, Joseph A (ed.), Who's who in Australia 1950, 14th edn, The Herald, Melbourne, 1950, 816 pp; Jones, Helen, 'Marshall, Dorothy May (1902-1961)', in Australian Dictionary of Biography Online, Australian National University, 2006, http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A150366b.htm.