Betsy Whyte

Betsy Whyte, née Townsley (1919–1988), was a Scottish Traveller. She was an accomplished singer and a noted virtuoso of traditional Scottish storytelling. Recordings of her performances are held in the permanent collection of the School of Scottish Studies, part of the University of Edinburgh. rather than a member of the revival movement. She was also largely an oral storyteller, able to retain and construct the story in her head before writing it down. She was the only recorded source on the Scottish mainland of a Gaelic story, The Vision of Mac Con Glinne, and had several Gaelic stories in her repertoire.

She was also significant as a singer of Scottish ballads by virtue of her personal connection to them; she was related to the Johnstone family of Young Johnstone (Child 88), which she performed in 1974.

Recordings of her performances are held in the permanent collection of the School of Scottish Studies, part of the University of Edinburgh. The Story of the Two Brothers The song was also performed by Cilla Fisher and Artie Trezise on their album Reaching Out (1986); Sheena Wellington on her album Clearsong (1990); Jean Redpath on her album Summer of my Dreams (2000); Gordon Easton on his album The Last of the Clydesdales (2007); and by Claire Hastings and Robyn Stapleton on their 2015 tour.

Betsy Whyte's great-grandson, David Pullar, has produced a children's book about her life, entitled Wee Bessie. It is based on her book, Yellow on the Broom.