Fergie Restitutus

The grave of William Henry Ferguson

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The grave of an international cricket celebrity has been restored in Bath following an online fundraising appeal.

The grave of William Henry Ferguson was discovered last year in Bath’s Locksbrook Cemetery by local resident and sports enthusiast Toby Goodman. “Fergie” toured the international cricket world for over fifty years as a scorer and baggage master, beginning with the 1905 Australian team’s tour of England and continuing until his final tour with the 1957 West Indians, just months before his death.

Over the years, Fergie worked for many notable teams, including the English squad on the infamous Bodyline tour of 1932-33, the 1948 Australian “Invincibles,” and the 1953-54 New Zealanders on their emotional “Tangiwai Disaster” tour of South Africa.

Fergie is regarded as the inventor of the “wagon wheel” batting chart, having compiled the strokes made by Sir Jack Hobbs when he scored 81 for Surrey against the touring Australians in 1912. Other famous innings he mapped include Sir Donald Bradman’s 334 against England, Wally Hammond’s 336 against New Zealand, and Sir Leonard Hutton’s 364 against Australia.

In total, Bill “Fergie” Ferguson scored 208 Test matches during an era that embraced everyone from Monty Noble to Ray Lindwall, and WG Grace to Colin Cowdrey.

Born in New Zealand in 1880, Ferguson spent his formative years in Sydney. A friendship with his dentist (and future brother-in-law), Australian team captain Monty Noble, led to his appointment as the team’s baggage master and scorer for the 1905 tour of England. This marked the beginning of a lifetime dedicated to cricket. Former Australian Prime Minister and cricket enthusiast Sir Robert Menzies once said of Fergie: “There is no better-loved man in the entire cricket world.” Menzies awarded Ferguson the British Empire Medal in 1951.

WH Ferguson died in Bath in September 1957. His grave plot, shared with his father-in-law and sister-in-law, had sadly been forgotten and had fallen into disrepair until its rediscovery last year. Mr. Goodman, who is also Director of Sport at The Paragon School, expressed his delight at the restoration. “I’m very humbled by the generous support I received for this project from people all over the world. The grave has been respectfully restored, and it’s fantastic to think that Fergie’s memory will live on.”

The project was supported by several prominent figures and organizations, including the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians, the England and Wales Cricket Board, Surrey County Cricket Club, the Right Honourable The Earl Spencer, lyricist Sir Tim Rice, and cricket legend Sir Richard Hadlee.

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