R. G. Ferguson

Robert George Ferguson, OBE, (12 September 1883 – 1964) was a pioneer in North America's fight against tuberculosis who worked for the introduction of free medical treatment. First province to initiate a vaccination program for its sanatorium personnel (student nurses, 1938) and the First Nations population (infants, 1930). Furthermore, Ferguson was a pioneer in long-term BCG vaccine research, quite controversial at the time.

Biography Robert George Ferguson was born on 12 September 1883 to Robert Ferguson and Margaret Jane Fisher. The couple had moved from Kincardine township in Ontario, Canada to North Dakota, USA in 1881, in part due to concerns about Margaret's health. Her family had a history of tuberculosis.

In 1902, Robert sent George to Canada to look for a possible land purchase. After traveling to Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton, George recommended the purchase of already cultivated land near downtown Yorkton, a town by a railway line. On his recommendation, Robert purchased three quarter sections of land (the east half of section 27, and the northeast quarter of section 22, township 25, range 4) on July 21, 1902. The following summer, in 1903, the family moved to the homestead near Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada.

His two youngest brothers, Vernon Stewart and Frank Willard had by then enrolled at the same University and subsequently left school to join the CEF. Vernon joined in 1915 and was wounded 12 Oct. 1915 at Ypres as a member of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Highland Light Infantry. He was discharged December 14 1915, received the Mons Star, contracted tuberculosis and died in 1930.<https://ssns.frontiersd.mb.ca/SeniorYrs/Curricula9-12/Grade11/CanadianHistory/RemembranceDay/Soldiers/UnivCo/Ferguson.html> His youngest brother Frank was discharged from the CEF and joined No. 87 Squadron RAF. Frank flew a Sopwith Dolphin and was shot down by Bavarian Ace, Michael Hutterer, near the German-Canadian lines (Marcoyne) on the evening of September 3, 1918. Hutterer was a member of Jagdstaffel 23. Second Lt. Frank Ferguson is buried at Arras Road Cemetery near Roclincourt, France.

RG Ferguson and wife Helen with Margaret, Robert, Sheelagh, David, Patricia, and Helen ("Honey") outside the family cottage at Echo Lake in the Qu`Àppelle Valley, July 1940.

Ferguson married Helen Ross of Wynyard, Saskatchewan on July 5, 1916, after a four-year engagement.

In 1929 RG Ferguson wrote, The Wood Fairies' Christmas Deed for his 6 surviving children. In 2014 this story was published, made available via Amazon with proceeds donated to the Lung Association of Saskatchewan. A short animated feature of the story was filmed and uploaded to YouTube. Ferguson's wife Helen was also an accomplished artist which is detailed in her biography, Her Legacy: The Life and Art of Helen FJ Ross Ferguson (Amazon).

RG Ferguson's children Robert Ross Ferguson, Sheelagh and David served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the second world war. His granddaughter, Sheelagh Cooper (nee Barrable), an entrepreneur and social activist, also received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in King Charles III first New years Honours list in 2023. https://tnnbda.com/his-majesty-the-kings-new-years-honours-list-2023/

Medical career Following graduation Ferguson worked under A. B. Alexander in the Acute Infection Hospital and others in Winnipeg as Assistant Medical Superintendent, replacing Alvin Trotter Mathers. In June 1917, he was hired by Maurice Macdonald Seymour

Ferguson remained at "Fort San" for 31 years. He was a skilled administrator with a knowledge of economics and the ability to analyze the dire challenge presented by rampant tuberculosis infection in the community. as was documented by Peter Bryce as early as the 1900s, and again by Ferguson himself.

As one of three members appointed by the Provincial Government to form the Saskatchewan Anti-Tuberculosis Commission in 1921 he wrote the entire report. Nineteen of the report's 22 recommendations were implemented. Chief among them was making the cost of diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis a public responsibility. Upon Ferguson's death in 1964 then Saskatchewan Minister of Health Minister Allan Blakeney said, "The introduction of diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis at public expense was one of the early and essential steps in developing a program of health services for all." Ferguson did not hesitate to relate such illness in First Nations people to the widespread physical, economic and social changes that were impacting them. It established him as an international authority on tuberculosis. Later on the same trip he attended the Council of the International Union Against TB where the double barred cross of Lorena was adopted as a symbol of the worldwide fight against tuberculosis.

A further achievement in 1928 was integration of the native population into the sanatorium. Saskatchewan, under Ferguson's guidance, was the first province by eight years to fully integrate the native population into sanatoria. Previously they were segregated.

Ferguson found an ally in incoming Premier James G. Gardiner, and on 1 January 1929 the Saskatchewan Sanatoria & Hospitals Act was passed. Saskatchewan became the first province in Canada to make tuberculosis treatment free to all who needed it.

BCG Research At the time Ferguson began his career at Fort Qu'Appelle, BCG vaccination was controversial. The idea of introducing live tubercle into the human body was considered dubious from perspectives of both health and morality. This grew to a fever pitch in 1930 when 249 infants in Lübeck, Germany were vaccinated with a vaccine which was supposedly BCG but which turned out to be contaminated with virulent tubercle bacillus. Seventy one infants died of tuberculosis as a result. Ferguson initially expressed concern over the proposal to test the BCG vaccine, writing in a private letter to the President of the National Research Council, on 3 January 1931:

Paradoxically, Ferguson's legacy was articulated as early as 1917 in his speech on the opening of the Fort Qu'Appelle Sanitorium:

Ferguson accomplished the goals he set out to achieve as laid out in this statement.

Organizations President, Saskatchewan Medical Association, 1922 President, Canadian Tuberculosis Association, (now the Canadian Lung Association) 1935-1936 Fellow, American College of Chest Physicians Member, World Health Organization, Expert Committee on Tuberculosis, 1949

Awards and honours In recognition of his achievements in the fight against tuberculosis, Ferguson received many awards and honours, including:

The Order of the British Empire (Civil), 1935, as "George Ferguson", "For services in connection with the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis in the Dominion of Canada." The King's Medallion (Silver Jubilee of King George V, 1935) Honorary Life Memberships in the: Brazilian Tuberculosis Association Canadian Tuberculosis Association (1952) Royal Canadian Legion (1947) In 1944, the Governor General of Canada, Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone and his wife Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone were dinner guests of the Fergusons while visiting the San at Fort Qu'Appelle.

Further recognition of Ferguson's achievements came in the form of the establishment of the Dr. R.G. Ferguson Professorship (1973) at the University of Saskatchewan; the Dr. George Ferguson School (Prek to Grade 8) in Regina, Saskatchewan (1969), and Ferguson Island, Saskatchewan.