Sir John Donald Balfour Fergusson, GCB (26 August 1891 – 4 March 1963), commonly known as Donald Fergusson,C. H. A. Duke, revised by Mark Pottle
"Fergusson, Sir (John) Donald Balfour"
''

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' (online ed.,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2004). Retrieved 28 January 2022. was a British civil servant who as

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...

of the Ministry of Agriculture had directed the Food Production Campaign during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Early life

John Donald Balfour Fergusson was born on 26 August 1891 at

Bebington Bebington () is a town and unparished area within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. Historically part of Cheshire, it lies south of Liverpool, close to the River Mersey on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula. Ne ...

, Cheshire, the son of the Reverend John Moore Fergusson, a Presbyterian minister, and Ethel Catherine Everett, ''née'' Evans.C. H. A. Duke, revised by Mark Pottle
"Fergusson, Sir (John) Donald Balfour"
''

'' (online ed.,

, 2004). Retrieved 28 January 2022. Fergusson was educated at

Berkhamsted School Berkhamsted School is an independent day school in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. The present school was formed in 1997 by the amalgamation of the original Berkhamsted School, founded in 1541 by John Incent, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, ...

and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

. At the beginning of the First World War he commissioned into the

Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Quee ...

, later transferring to the 1/1st Hertfordshire Regiment, and saw active service on the Somme and at the Third Ypres.

Civil Service

In 1919 he joined the Treasury and by 1934 was an Assistant Secretary, he served as a Private Secretary to Chancellors of the Exchequer including

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

. In 1936 he was promoted to

at the Ministry of Agriculture where during the Second World War he was recognised for the planning and success of the scheme to increase food supplies and revitalise the countryside. In 1945 he became the first Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Fuel and Power where he wrestled with creating a new ministry with opposing interests from the coal, petroleum, gas and electricity industries. He had the burden of the 1947 fuel crisis and the nationalisation of both gas and electricity. He retired in 1952 and became a director of the

Prudential Assurance Company Prudential plc is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It was founded in London in May 1848 to provide loans to professional and working people. Prudential has dual primary listings on the London Stock E ...

. He had married Phyllis Mary Cleverly in 1918 and they had three sons and a daughter; one son was killed in action in 1944. He died on 4 March 1963 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, aged 71.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fergusson, Donald 1891 births 1963 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Hertfordshire Regiment officers Civil servants in HM Treasury English civil servants Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath People educated at Berkhamsted School People from Bebington Permanent Secretaries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Permanent Secretaries of the Ministry of Power Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Cheshire