Betty Sherriff (nee Graham) was born in British India. She was the youngest daughter of a Scottish vicar and missionary. Dr. John Anderson Graham, who had founded the St. Andrew's Colonial Homes (now the Kalimpong Homes) on behalf of needy Indian children. She had previously been married (formerly Mrs. Mervyn Hughes) and had a degree in Botany from Oxford.
Married Major George Sherriff in 1942 in Kalimpong and accompanied him on his expeditions to SE Tibet and Bhutan from 1942 - 1949 (last expedition).