Ian Bruce Ferguson

Colonel Ian Bruce Ferguson, (13 April 1917 – 21 December 1988) was an officer in the Australian Army who served in the Second World War and Korean War.

Early life Ferguson was born on 13 April 1917 in Wellington, New Zealand, the only child of D'Arcy Stuart Ferguson and Ethel May, née Rattray. His parents divorced and he lived with his mother. His mother later married Sydney Wren, who worked for Reuters. His education was varied as he travelled with his mother and step father, attending schools in Wellington, Melbourne, London, Paris and Dunedin. After completing his education, he working as a cadet journalist in Wellington. Upon the declaration of the Second World War, he was working with the newspaper the Sydney Sun.

Recovering from his illnesses, Ferguson was appointed liaison officer at 6th Division headquarters in September 1943 and was promoted to temporary major that month, which became substantive in May 1945.

Interwar With the cessation of hostilities in August 1945, Ferguson volunteered for service in the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan, where he commanded a company of the 67th Battalion at Kaita, and later on Eta Jima island. He was appointed second-in-command of the 67th Battalion in 1947. He was later attached to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force headquarters in 1948. He married Alice Elizabeth (née Browne), a staffer of the Embassy of Canada in Tokyo, on 26 June that year. He was relieved of command of 3RAR on 5 July 1951 after eight months in command.

Later life After his experiences in Korea, Ferguson was appointed to command the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, and later the 13th National Service Training Battalion from 1952 to 1953. His promotion to lieutenant colonel was made substantive in October 1957. Ferguson was an instructor from 1959 to 1962 at the Royal Military College, Duntroon in Canberra. He was assigned to the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization from 1963 to 1966 in Bangkok. He retired from the army on 14 April 1967 and was promoted the rank of colonel. After retiring from the armed forces he became secretary of the Union Club, Sydney, from 1969 to 1974.

Ferguson died on 21 December 1988 in Canberra and was survived by his wife and their three sons. According to the Australian Dictionary of Biography, he was "cremated with Anglican rites".