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 ...

Bernard Edward Fergusson, Baron Ballantrae, (6 May 1911 – 28 November 1980) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and military historian who served as the tenth

governor-general of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand () is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and lives in the United Kingdom, he, on the Advice ...

from 1962 to 1967. He was the last British-born person to hold the position.

Early life and family

Fergusson was the third son and fourth child of

Sir Charles Fergusson, 7th Baronet General Sir Charles Fergusson, 7th Baronet, (17 January 1865 – 20 February 1951) was a British Army officer and the third Governor-General of New Zealand, in office from 1924 to 1930. Early life and military career Fergusson was the son of ...

, and his wife Lady Alice Mary Boyle, a daughter of

David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow (31 May 1833 – 13 December 1915), was a British naval commander and colonial governor. He served as Governor of New Zealand between 1892 and 1897. Background Boyle was the son of Patrick Boyle (eldest son of D ...

. His older brother was

Sir James Fergusson, 8th Baronet Sir James Fergusson, 8th Baronet of Kilkerran, (18 September 1904 – 25 October 1973) was a Scottish aristocrat, broadcaster, journalist and historian. Life Fergusson was born in Dailly in Ayrshire on 18 September 1904 the son of Sir Charle ...

, of Kilkerran. Both of his grandfathers had previously served as governors of New Zealand and his father had served as governor-general. On 22 November 1950 Fergusson married Laura Margaret Grenfell (1920−1979), daughter of Arthur Morton Grenfell and sister of Dame

Frances Campbell-Preston Dame Frances Olivia Campbell-Preston (; 2 September 1918 – 22 November 2022) was a British courtier and author who served as lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother from 1965 to 2002.George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

(Geordie), who served as the

British high commissioner to New Zealand The high commissioner of the United Kingdom to New Zealand is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in New Zealand, and head of the UK's diplomatic mission in New Zealand. As the United Kingdom and New Zealand are fellow mem ...

from 2006 to 2010 and

governor of Bermuda The governor of Bermuda (officially Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Somers Isles (alias the Islands of Bermuda)) is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Bermuda. For the purposes of this arti ...

from 2012.

Military career, 1931–1946

Fergusson was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

. From the latter, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

on 27 August 1931. He served with the 2nd Battalion of his regiment in the British Mandate of Palestine during the

Arab revolt The Arab Revolt ( ), also known as the Great Arab Revolt ( ), was an armed uprising by the Hashemite-led Arabs of the Hejaz against the Ottoman Empire amidst the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On the basis of the McMahon–Hussein Co ...

and later became aide-de-camp (ADC) to Major General

Archibald Wavell Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, (5 May 1883 – 24 May 1950) was a senior officer of the British Army. He served in the Second Boer War, the Bazar Valley Campaign and the First World War, during which he was wounded ...

, then

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

the 2nd Infantry Division in England, on 11 March 1937. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he was on the Directing Staff at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. In 1940, Fergusson was serving as a

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...

for the 46th Infantry Brigade before becoming a general staff officer in the Middle East, where he also saw active service with Free French forces in Syria and with the Black Watch in

Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...

. In 1942 he served briefly in the Joint Planning Staff in Delhi, before transferring to Orde Wingate's embryonic Chindit force experimenting with Long Range Penetration campaigns. He commanded No. 5 Column in Wingate's 1943 campaign (

Operation Longcloth The Chindits, officially known as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. Brigadier Orde Wingate formed the ...

) in Japanese-occupied Burma, for which he was awarded the DSO. In October 1943 he was promoted to acting brigadier and given command of the

16th Infantry Brigade The 16th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service during the Second Boer War and the First and Second World Wars. History Second Boer War During the Second Boer War, the 16th brigade was active in So ...

, which was converted into a

Chindit The Chindits, officially known as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. ...

formation for operations in the deep jungles of

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

miles behind Japanese lines. He commanded this brigade throughout the Chindit operations of 1944 ( Operation Thursday). 16 Brigade, alone of the Chindit brigades, went into Burma on foot in a five week march through very difficult terrain. He established a stronghold, "Aberdeen", in keeping with Wingate's strategic vision and led an unsuccessful assault on the airfields at

Indaw Indaw (, ) is a town in northern Myanmar and is the principal town of Indaw Township, Katha District, Sagaing Region. It is located south-east of Indaw Lake. The rail junction at Naba is located about to the north-east of the town. History In ...

before his Brigade was flown out. He was Director of

Combined Operations In current military use, combined operations are operations conducted by forces of two or more allied nations acting together for the accomplishment of a common strategy, a strategic and operational and sometimes tactical cooperation. Intera ...

from 1945 to 1946. He wrote about both Burma campaigns in ''Beyond the Chindwin'' and ''The Wild Green Earth'' and stood unsuccessfully for Parliament in the 1945 election.

Service in Palestine, 1946–1947

In 1946 Fergusson returned to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

during the Palestine Emergency as an Assistant Inspector-General in the

Palestine Police Force The Palestine Police Force (, ) was a British colonial police service established in Mandatory Palestine on 1 July 1920,Sinclair, 2006. when High Commissioner Sir Herbert Samuel's civil administration took over responsibility for security from ...

. He proposed that special units be formed to fight against Zionist paramilitaries, to include serving Palestine police officers and soldiers who had served in the British

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

during the war. This was accepted and one of the resulting units was commanded by

Roy Farran Major Roy Alexander Farran (2 January 1921 – 2 June 2006) was a British-Canadian soldier, politician, farmer, author and journalist. He was highly decorated for his exploits with the Special Air Service (SAS) during the Second World War. Farr ...

, a much-decorated former SAS officer. In May 1947, Farran's unit arrested 17-year-old Alexander Rubowitz, who was putting up posters in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

for a Zionist paramilitary organisation, Lehi. Rubowitz was killed under brutal interrogation and his body never found. Farran came under suspicion and in 2004 British secret documents were revealed that included a statement by Fergusson, from the time of the event, to the effect that Farran confessed to Fergusson of the murder. Fergusson had then reported the incident to the head of CID (Criminal Investigation Department) and to the Palestine Police Inspector-General. At Farran's subsequent trial, Fergusson refused to testify on grounds that he might incriminate himself. The Palestine government announced that no action would be taken against Fergusson. Following Farran's acquittal, Fergusson was relieved of his duties in Palestine and returned to Britain.

Military career, 1947–1958

Fergusson commanded 1st Battalion, the Black Watch in Germany from 1948 to 1951, was Colonel (Intelligence) at

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe The Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. SHAPE is situated in the villag ...

(SHAPE), at Versailles. He later commanded the 153rd (Highland) Brigade in Perth.. He was appointed Director of

Psychological Warfare Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), has been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations ( MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and Mi ...

operations during the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

, a joint invasion of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

by the British,

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

is to take control of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

. Despite drafting an extensive campaign of psychological warfare for use during the crisis, the actual operations when the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) commenced aerial campaigns against Egyptian targets were very different and ultimately made little impact on Egyptian morale or public opinion. Psychological warfare

radio broadcasts Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

made under Fergusson's direction and directed at Egypt stated that President

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

was under the influence of

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

and urged Egyptians to attack Israel, which elicited diplomatic protests from future Israeli Prime Minister

Golda Meir Golda Meir (; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was the prime minister of Israel, serving from 1969 to 1974. She was Israel's first and only female head of government. Born into a Jewish family in Kyiv, Kiev, Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) ...

. Fergusson's final military appointment was as Commander of 29 Brigade, based in Dover (1957-58).

Governor-General of New Zealand

Fergusson worked as a writer, based in Ayrshire, Scotland between 1958 and 1962, writing the official history of Combined Operations ''(The Watery Maze)'', and serving as a correspondent for the Sunday Times and Sunday Telegraph. In 1962 he was appointed

, serving until 1967. Although he had the physical appearance of a very traditional British officer, he became a popular governor-general. He was an early and strong advocate for greater knowledge and respect on the part of pākehā (European) New Zealanders for

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

and tikanga. He was the first governor or governor-general to speak Māori since Governor George Grey (governor 1845-53).

Later career

He was a member of the International Observer Team (1968-69) during the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...

, founding chair of the Scottish Trust for the Physically Disabled from 1971, chair of the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

1972-76,

Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the monarch's personal representative to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (the Kirk), reflecting the Church's role as the national church of Scotla ...

1973 and 1974, and Honorary Colonel of the Black Watch 1969-76. Fergusson was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

on 10 July 1972 as Baron Ballantrae, of Auchairne in the County of

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

and The

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and made a

Knight of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier order. The ...

(KT) in 1974. Lord Ballantrae served as

chancellor of the University of St Andrews The Chancellor of the University of St Andrews is the Titular ruler, titular head of the University of St Andrews. Their duties include conferring academic degree, degrees, promoting the university's image throughout the world, and furthering the ...

from 1973 until his death in 1980.

Memorial scholarship

The Bernard Fergusson Memorial Scholarship was established in 1982 by the late Maori Queen, Dame

Te Atairangikaahu Dame Te Atairangikaahu (born Pikimene Korokī Mahuta, 23 July 1931 – 15 August 2006) reigned as Māori Queen from 1966 until her death in 2006. Her reign was the longest of any Māori monarch. Her full name and title was Te Arikinui D ...

, from a fund raised on her behalf in memory of Fergusson, as he was a particular friend of the Tainui people. The purpose of the award is to assist a member of the

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka (canoe), waka confederation of New Zealand Māori people, Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki Māori, Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapo ...

Tribal Confederation resident in the Tainui Maori Trust Board area to enrol as an undergraduate student in the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...

, who but for the award, might otherwise not be able to attend the university. Due to his relationship with Tainui, a Ngāruawāhia primary school, Te Kura Kaupapa o Bernard Fergusson, was named after him in 1966. Over the years, many students from the school would go on to receive the memorial scholarship.

Honours and awards

Arms

Bibliography

*''Eton Portrait'' (1937) London: John Miles Ltd. *''Beyond the Chindwin'' (1945) London: Collins ''also'' Barnsley:

Pen & Sword Military Pen and Sword Books, also stylised as Pen & Sword, is a British publisher which specialises in printing and distributing books in both hardback and softback on military history, militaria and other niche subjects, primarily focused on the Unite ...

(2009) *''Lowland Soldier'' (1945) London: Collins (verse) *''The Wild Green Earth'' (1946) London: Collins *''The Black Watch and the King's Enemies'' (1950) London: Collins ''also'' Derby: Pilgrim Press (1974) *''Rupert of the Rhine'' (1952) London: Collins *''The Rare Adventure'' (1954) London: Collins *''The Business of War: The War Narrative of Major-General Sir John Kennedy'' (1957) (editor) London: Hutchinson *''The Watery Maze: The Story of Combined Operations'' (1961) London: Collins *''Wavell: Portrait of a Soldier'' (1961) London: Collins *''Return to Burma'' (1962) London: Collins *''The Trumpet in the Hall 1930–1958'' (1970) London: Collins *''Captain John Niven'' (1972) London: Collins *''Hubble-Bubble'' (1978) London: Collins (light verse) *''Travel Warrant'' (1979) London: Collins

References

External links

Official biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fergusson, Bernard 1911 births 1980 deaths People from Maybole Nobility from South Ayrshire Black Watch officers British Army brigadiers of World War II

Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''be ...

Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Governors-general of New Zealand Life peers Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights of the Thistle Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Officers of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Chancellors of the University of St Andrews Younger sons of baronets Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine People of the British Council Military personnel from London Palestine Police Force officers Life peers created by Elizabeth II