Margaret Russell Telfer was born in Gourock, Scotland, in 1916 , daughter of William S Kerr, a schoolmaster. She attended the University of Glasgow as an Arts student between 1934-1937 and graduated in 1937 with an MA in French and German Language and Literature. As part of her degree she also studied English Language and Literature, Moral Philosophy, and Botany. She married William Telfer and worked as a teacher in her home town of Inverness, Scotland.
From the guide to the Papers of Margaret Russell Telfer, 1916-, arts graduate, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1934-1994, (Glasgow University Archives Service)