Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Contributed by Golden Grove High School

James Alan Fergusson was born on the 6th of July 1885 to Robert and Henrietta Fergusson. He was the youngest son and the third of five children. He was born in Dulwich, South Australia, where his family lived throughout his childhood.

The Fergusson family lived on a farm, which had been owned by the family since they came from Scotland in 1837. The farm was located on Gurney Road in Dulwich, and the family grew crops and produced dairy. Running the farm was not an easy task, and so most of the family were required to contribute to the upkeep. James’s role was a dairyman, and he put in a lot of time to help his family.

On January 18th, 1916, James enlisted into the army for service abroad. He was 20-years-old at this time, and had completed two and a half years of cadet training. During his service, James served in the 11th Company of the 3rd Machine Gun Battalion in the Australian Imperial Force. Both of his older brothers, Leslie and Alfred, also enlisted at a similar time. Leslie formed part of the 10th Infantry Battalion and Alfred was a Sergeant in the 27th AIF Battalion. Alfred was later promoted to Lieutenant during the war.

James and his battalion embarked from Outer Harbour, South Australia, on June 9th, 1916. They travelled on the HMAT Afric until they arrived at Southampton, England on the 14th of July. During his service in England, James was promoted to Lance Corporal on the 2nd of September 1916.

The 3rd Machine Gun Battalion was in England for around 4 months before they travelled overseas to serve in France on the 25th of November 1916. Whilst in France, James served and assisted in the Battle of Somme that was occurring on the western front. After he had fought in France, he and the 3rd battalion headed north to Ypres, Belgium. The first battle they fought in was the Battle of

Messines, which began on the 7th of June and ended after a week. From then on James continued to serve in the battles of Broodseinde, Amiens, St Quentin Canal, and Passchendaele. The battle that occurred in Passchendaele was very important in the war and was an event that holds a significant amount of historical importance for Australia. Many lives were lost on both the German and Allied

sides and the conditions that the soldiers went through in the trenches were dreadful. The Allies planned to gain as much territory as possible, and to try and surround the Germans as much as possible. From July to November 1917, the soldiers preserved through and successfully advanced 5

miles. James was promoted to Temporary Transport Sergeant on the 12th of September 1917, which then became a permanent role in November that year.

In March 1918, James was court marshalled. He had an injury on his arm which had developed gangrene. It was believed that it had gotten infected because James had avoided taking care of it. The court found him not guilty.

In June 1918, James was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his service in France for bravery and long periods of service.

James was discharged on the 23rd of September 1919, almost a year after the  war had ended. After the war was over, he continued to serve and stayed in France to help dismantle all of the army equipment and ensure that it returned to Australia safely.

James and his brothers returned home to Australia, proud of their efforts and achievements in the war, but also mourning their fellow comrades that they had lost. They returned to the Fergusson farm, but they soon realised that they needed to find another source of income, as the farm could not support them all. In 1920, James, Alfred and their father Robert bought the license to the Prince Albert Hotel in Gawler. A year later, James branched off from his family and bought the license to the Southern Hotel. It was there that James met the love of his life, Dorothy Bentley, or Doll. She was a housemaid at the hotel, and was also the daughter of the hotel’s blacksmith, William Bentley. In this same year, Leslie unfortunately passed away after he contracted tuberculosis during his service.

James and Doll were married in 1923. Their first child, Robert William, was born in October 1925. During a period of 24 years, they had 10 children together. Their second youngest child, Malcolm Neil, was born in August 1971, and their youngest, Phillip Charles, was born in July 1949, nearly 24 years after Robert.

In September 1956, James was sent to Adelaide for surgery after he had struggled with an ulcerated stomach for some time. By this time, his illness had become very severe, so he was sent to Adelaide for an emergency surgery. During the surgery, James had a heart attack. He passed away on 7th of October 1956 at the age of 61 as a result of the heart attack. This left Dorothy to continue to raise their 10 children, but on her own. Doll lived until she was 91 and passed away on the 16th of February 1996.

Sources: Websites
 

Genge 2023, Third Battle of Ypres 31 July to 10 November 1917, Anzac Portal, viewed 11

April 2023, <https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/where-australians- served/western-front/third-battle-of-ypres>.

James Alan Fergusson 2023, Awm.gov.au, viewed 18 April 2023,

<https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1791187>.

The Meritorious Service Medal Awarded to Thomas Place • WW1 Medal Stories • MyLearning 2023, Mylearning.org, viewed 2 May 2023,

<https://www.mylearning.org/stories/ww1-medal- stories/729#:~:text=This%20medal%20was%20first%20introduced,in%20battle%20or%20u nder%20gunfire.>.

1916-1991 Australian Army division, Wikipedia.org 2003, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., viewed 2 May 2023, <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_Division_(Australia)>.

Dictionary.com 2023, www.dictionary.com, viewed 13 May 2023,

<https://www.dictionary.com/browse/meritorious>.

What You Need to Know About the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) 2023, Imperial War Museums, viewed 17 May 2023, <https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-you-need-to-know- about-the-third-battle-of-ypres-passchendaele>.

Battle of Passchendaele | National Army Museum 2023, Nam.ac.uk, viewed 17 May 2023,

<https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle- passchendaele#:~:text=On%2031%20July%201917%2C%20the,would%20achieve%20its%2 0own%20notoriety.>.

Guardian staff reporter 2008, Timeline: The western front, the Guardian, The Guardian, viewed 23 May 2023, <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/nov/09/western-front- battles-timeline>.

Sources: Military Records
 

‘James Alan Ferguson’ (unknown date) First World War Nominal Roll, Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R2326495, viewed 14 April 2023

‘James Alan Fergusson’ (circa 1916) Attestation paper of persons enlisted for service abroad,

unknown publisher, viewed 14 April 2023

‘James Alan Fergusson’ (circa 1919) unknown title, unknown publisher, viewed 14 April 2023

‘James Alan Fergusson’ (circa 1919) Promotions, Reductions, Casualties, &c, unknown publisher, viewed 25 April 2023

‘James Alan Fergusson’ (circa 1919) Record of promotions, reductions, transfers, casualties, &c during active service, unknown publisher, viewed 25 April 2023

‘James Alan Fergusson’ (circa 1918) Army Form B. unknown publisher, viewed 25 April 2023