Arthur Ferguson (police officer)
British police officer (1862–1935)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Arthur George Ferguson CBE (22 June 1862 – 14 February 1935) was a British Army officer and police officer, who served as His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland.
Sir Arthur Ferguson | |
|---|---|
| His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland | |
| In office 1904–1927 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 June 1862 British North America |
| Died | 14 February 1935 (aged 72) |
| Occupation | British Army officer |
Family
Ferguson was the eldest son of Lieutenant-Colonel George Arthur Ferguson (1835–1924), the sixth Laird of Pitfour, a large estate in the Buchan area of Aberdeenshire, north east Scotland. His mother was Nina Maria Hood, who was the eldest daughter of Alexander Nelson Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport.[1][2]
Career and early life
Ferguson was born in British North America while his father was posted overseas, but the family returned to Britain in 1864 and initially lived in London.[2]
He went to Eton College in 1876 and was then in January 1883 commissioned as a lieutenant into the Rifle Brigade,[3] in which he served for 22 years. He was promoted to captain on 1 January 1892, and from 2 June 1898 was a staff captain, serving as aide-de-camp to Lord William Seymour, Commander of the British Troops in Canada.[4] In April 1900, he left the United Kingdom on the SS Scot bound for South Africa,[5] where he served as a staff officer on special service during the Second Boer War.[6] He was promoted to major in February 1901[1] after which, in October that year, he returned to his father's estate at Pitfour. He married Janet Norah Baird (1878-1943), a daughter of Sir Alexander Baird, in London in 1902.[7]
In 1904 he was appointed His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland and served in this role until 1927, although he rejoined the Army during the First World War.[7]
He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1920 civilian war honours[8] and knighted on his retirement in 1927.[7]
He died at the age of 72. His son, Angus Arthur Ferguson (born 1903), also became a police officer, eventually serving as Chief Constable of Northamptonshire from 1931.[7]