Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Maurice Alfred Fergusson, (5 December 1895 – 27 September 1975) was an

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

officer who served during both

World Wars A world war is an international conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I (19 ...

Early life

Fergusson was born at Caulfield in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

to Mauritian-born bank manager Ernest Fairchild Fergusson and Alfritha Elizabeth, ''née'' Turner. He attended

University High School, Melbourne The University High School (abbreviated as UHS or Uni High) is a government-funded co-educational secondary day school, located in the Melbourne suburb of Parkville, Victoria, Australia. , 1,708 students attended the school. In 2023, it was ...

before working as a jackeroo and undergoing compulsory military training.

Military career

Fergusson enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 24 August 1914 and was posted to Egypt in the 1st Field Artillery Brigade. He was promoted from gunner to bombardier in March 1915, landing at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

on 25 April. He was hospitalised in England for

enteric fever Enteric fever is a medical term encompassing two types of salmonellosis, which, specifically, are typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever. Enteric fever is a potentially life-threatening acute febrile systemic infection and is diagnosed by isolating ...

from September. In July 1916 he was sent to the Western Front. Fergusson was commissioned in December 1916 and promoted lieutenant in May 1917. Wounded at

Messines Messines may refer to: * Mesen (in French: Messines), a village in Belgium **Battle of Messines (disambiguation), World War I battles * Messines, Quebec, a municipality in Canada * São Bartolomeu de Messines São Bartolomeu de Messines, also ref ...

on 7 June, he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

(MC) after saving his battery's guns and many of his men near Cérisy-Gailly, winning a

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

to his MC for his actions from February to March. Injured in an accident in August, he was transferred to England and granted a

disability pension A disability pension is a form of pension given to those people who are permanently or temporarily unable to work due to a disability. North America An example of a disability pension is from a private or Public Pension Plan, or the Canada Pen ...

, which he voluntarily surrendered in 1922. He married Effie Hazel Skinner at

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

on 6 January 1916. After the termination of his commission on 25 March 1919, Fergusson and his wife returned to Australia. Fergusson farmed at Whittlesea from 1927 and was a local councillor from 1930 to 1934, serving from 1931 to 1932 as president. In 1932, he contested the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

seat of Evelyn as an independent

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...

candidate, but was defeated. Fergusson remained in the militia from 1926 to 1932 and rejoined in 1936. He was given command of the 8th Light Horse Regiment and promoted lieutenant colonel in 1939; on 13 October he returned to the AIF to take command of the 6th Divisional Reconnaissance Regiment. Posted to the Middle East from February 1940, Fergusson was wounded on 9 March 1941 at the siege of

Giarabub Jaghbub () () is a remote desert village in the Al Jaghbub Oasis in the eastern Libyan Desert. It is actually closer to the Egyptian town of Siwa than to any Libyan town of note. The oasis is located in Butnan District and was the administrativ ...

in Libya and returned to Australia in June. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

and again mentioned in despatches. He returned to active service in November, commanding the 2/17th Battalion from January to February 1942 in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. He returned to Australia in March and was promoted temporary

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

in April, leading the 1st and 2nd Armoured and 2nd Infantry brigades from 1942 to 1944. Fergusson commanded the 8th Infantry Brigade from August 1944 in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

, being mentioned in despatches a third time, and returned to Australia on 16 August 1945, where he was transferred to the Reserve as honorary brigadier.

Later life

Fergusson stood for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

as a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

candidate in 1946, but was defeated. He moved to

Inverell Inverell is a large town in northern New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Macintyre River, close to the Queensland border. It is also the centre of Inverell Shire. Inverell is located on the Gwydir Highway on the western slopes of the ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

in 1946 and to the property "Moreton Bay" in New South Wales in 1949, farming near

Leadville Leadville ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory city, statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only List of municipalities in Colorado, incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, Lak ...

. In 1966 he retired to Sydney. Fergusson died at

Dunedoo Dunedoo ( ) is a village of 1,021 inhabitants situated within the Warrumbungle Shire of central western New South Wales, Australia. Dunedoo is well known to Australian travellers due to its distinctive name (''Dunny'' is a colloquial Australian ...

in 1975 and was buried in Moreton Bay; his wife and four of his six sons survived him (one, Terence, had been killed in action in 1942 in Papua).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fergusson, Maurice 1895 births 1975 deaths Military personnel from Melbourne Australian brigadiers Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Australian recipients of the Military Cross People from Caulfield, Victoria People educated at University High School, Melbourne Victoria (state) local councillors