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Elma Johnson

Shetland storyteller and tourist guide;

Born: November 25, 1943; Died: January 13, 2012.

Elma Johnson, who has died at the age of 68, was a well-known Shetland storyteller and travel guide.

She was born in Vatster, near Bigton, to Christina Eunson from Whalsey and James Andrew Johnson, a joiner and herring fisherman. His boat, The Reaper, a 1901 Fifie, can be seen at the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther. She and her sister Bella attended Bigton School and had a fun-filled childhood. Her cousin Wilma Bruce remembers her constantly talking. So much so that when they all played together in the shed they'd pretend Elma was the wireless.