Serving in both World Wars and contributing to the building of Dryden’s Cenotaph.
That’s the story Dryden Rotarians shared in their dedicated Remembrance Day meeting this week of local Veteran George Ferguson.
Ferguson was born April 26, 1899 in Scotland and enlisted a few weeks before the First World War was declared in August 1914.
“At that time he would have been signing up for seven years of full service, followed by another five years in the army reserve,” says Rotarian Will Vermeer.
“But at the time of George’s first enlistment he was only 14 years old, although his sign up papers showed he was 18 years and 39 days of age,” explains Rotarian Susan Reany Iskra. “Apparently his mother was successful in tracking him down and having him discharged in November of that year as he was too young to enlist.”
Ferguson managed to re-enlist just two weeks later where he served in France and was wounded twice, receiving bullet grazes to his neck and the top of his head and was admitted to hospital in June 1915.
Although Ferguson was well enough to rejoin his unit in August, it was only three months before he was discharged once again for being underage.
After the First War, work in Scotland was scarce so Ferguson immigrated to Canada in 1919 and chose to come to Dryden to be with family.
Iskra explains Ferguson also played a critical role in how we honour our veterans to this day.
“George used his skills as a stone mason to build the Cenotaph from granite blocks. The original cenotaph was not built where it now sits, the Cenotaph was originally located on the grounds of the Baptist Church at 58 King Street.”
Dryden’s Cenotaph was unveiled one week before the Second World War in 1939.
“George worked in the Paper Mill as a brick layer and continued to work there until the outbreak of World War Two,” says Vermeer.
“He served overseas with the first core of the field part company, the Royal Canadian Engineers,” adds Iskra. “He was discharged for medical reasons in 1943.”
Ferguson returned to Dryden to work at the mill after the second war and then for the town until his retirement at the age of 65 in 1965.
Ferguson passed away in 1966.
In 1957 the Cenotaph was moved where it stands now in front of Dryden City Hall.
