Elizabeth “Betty” Whyteside 14/02/1922 – 19/09/2015
Born in Anderson,
Betty was the
eldest of two
sisters and, as a
child, had the
“distinction” of
surviving being run
over by a Glasgow Tram!
She worked as waitress in a
tearoom before being called up to
serve in WAAF with Coast
Command on air-sea rescue.
Her war service over, Betty’s
witnessed her sister’s marriage to
John Whyteside and it was
through this union that Betty met
up with her future husband,
John’s brother Jim.
Betty and Jim’s first child,
Margaret, arrived in November of
that year but her life was to be
tragically cut short by kidney
disease which claimed her at the
age of ten!
By then, second daughter Joan,
had arrived and, although briefly
contemplating a new life in
Canada, they remained in
Scotland and their grief at
Margaret’s loss must have been
eased at least a little with the
surprise arrival of son Jim in