Vet of the Month: November, 2010

Reg.#5909, Cst. Amos Gordon Ferguson, M.M.

This story required some team support. First, the photo was kindly provided by 'E' Div. Vet. Sheldon Boles while the story of our Vet. of the Month was provided through the kindness of Historian Vet. Jack White. Our Vet. of the Month is Cst. Amos Gordon Ferguson, M.M. RIP

Cst. Amos Gordon Ferguson moved to British Columbia from Ontario in 1909. At first, he worked in logging camps but on August 22, 1914 he joined the Force. About a year later he quit to join the Lord Strathcona's Horse Regiment, Canadian Expeditionary Force for service in World War I. During the war, Amos Ferguson was wounded twice and afterwards he was awarded the Military Medal.

On return from overseas in April, 1919, Ferguson rejoined the Force and served in "K" Division and, by 1922, he had attained the rank of Sergeant.

Unfortunately, Amos Ferguson's career effectively ended when, on March 8, 1922, he was charged in Orderly Room with "...rendering false and misleading reports..." to his Officer Commanding respecting an investigation. He was fined $30.00, demoted to the rank of constable and ordered dismissed. In the end, Ferguson was dismissed from the Force on August 7, 1922.

He then moved to Vancouver and joined the Harbour Police. In 1932, he moved to the Provincial Gaol Service and worked at Oakalla Prison Farm, Burnaby, British Columbia until his retirement in 1955.

Amos Ferguson was a Life Member of the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 6, Cloverdale, British Columbia. In 1951, he and his wife, Martha, purchased a substantial piece of property (just above present day Guildford Golf Course) at 152nd Street and 82nd Avenue in Surrey. The property became a gathering place for their many friends and their motto was 'Come Early and Stay Late'.

At one of the Ferguson social gatherings, it was decided to hold an annual reunion for members of the Lord Strathcona's Horse Regiment and to plant a Memorial Tree on the property to provide a final resting place for the ashes of former Cavalry members and their wives. An annual memorial service is traditionally carried out to this day by the Royal Canadian Legion. The Ferguson's donated the land to the Royal Canadian Legion with the request that it be used for low rental senior citizen housing. Zone 7 of the Pacific Command, Royal Canadian Legion pooled assets and erected a fifty-one suite manor with the help of Canadian Mortgage and Housing.

Legionnaires have first chance at 75% of the suites and the remaining 25% are for low income seniors in exchange for 33% of their pension income.

The original Memorial Tree had to be moved to accommodate the Manor and was transplanted to the west side at the south end of a mini-parade ground. Cst. Ferguson died in 1982 and his ashes rest at the base of the Memorial Tree.RIP

Ferguson Manor, 152nd Street, Surrey, B.C. is named in memory of Reg.#5905 Constable Amos Gordon Ferguson, M.M., RNWMP and RCMP.

Fort Healy, Canada. Circa 1942

'Maintain Our Memories'

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