The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (VX11997) Captain John Boyd Ferguson, 2/33rd Battalion (Infantry), Second World War

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial every day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (VX11997) Captain John Boyd Ferguson, 2/33rd Battalion (Infantry), Second World War.

VX11997 Captain John Boyd Ferguson, 2/33rd Battalion
Accidentally killed 7 September 1943
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 6 September 2013

Today, we remember and pay tribute to Captain John Boyd Ferguson.

John Ferguson was born in Adelaide, South Australia, in August 1915. He attended the Geelong College in Victoria and was active in scouting and sporting activities. He enlisted into the second Australian Imperial Force in April 1940 and left Australia as part of the third convoy sailing for overseas service. Originally bound for the Middle East, his convoy was redirected to England when it was clear that France was about to capitulate to German forces. As a young lieutenant, Ferguson was appointed as a platoon commander in A Company when the 2/33rd Battalion was raised at Tidworth, England. His battalion witnessed the Battle of Britain and prepared to defend the United Kingdom in the event of a seaborne invasion.

He was promoted to captain and placed in charge of "Don" Company. The 2/33rd Battalion was deployed to the Middle East, where Ferguson took part in hard fighting against the Vichy French during the Syrian campaign. He was wounded, which temporarily put him out of any further front-line action. During his convalescence, he was assigned to an infantry training unit, so he was not with the battalion in 1942 when it was sent to Papua to fight along the Kokoda Trail and at Gona.

Ferguson rejoined the 2/33rd Battalion in Port Moresby in 1943, resuming his role as D Company's commander in time for operations to capture Lae. In the early hours of the 7th of September, D Company were sitting in trucks at a marshalling area near Jackson's Airfield, Port Moresby, waiting to board aircraft for Nadzab. At around 4.20 am the roar of aircraft engines was heard. A fully-loaded American four-engine B-24 Liberator heavy bomber failed to take off and crashed into the stationary vehicles. Lance Sergeant Ray Gibson later said: "Captain John Ferguson was sitting on the front seat of the lead vehicle and was incinerated, as were so many of our mates."

Sixty-two Australians and the eleven-man crew of the B-24 Liberator were killed. Ninety-two Australians were injured, many enduring horrific burns. This incident was subject to strict censorship and to this day is not widely known. This crash accounted for one-third of the battalion's fatal casualties for the entire war. It ranks among Australia's worst air disasters.

Sergeant Gibson described Ferguson as "a caring officer who respected the troops training under his command. He was always happy to discuss training procedures we were enacting to be ready for our next campaign. To me, it was a sad ending to a man who understood men and was able to get the best out of them. I salute him, and God bless what he stood for."

Shortly after the Second World War, John's only sister, Helen, married Lieutenant Colonel Edward Ernest Dunlop, better known as Weary Dunlop, of the Australian Army Medical Corps.

John Boyd Ferguson is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, along with approximately 40,000 other Australians who died during the Second World War.

This is one of the many stories of courage and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Captain John Boyd Ferguson and all those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.