Ferguson's Gang
The True Story
Over the years newspapers and broadcast journalists speculated as to the identity of Ferguson's Gang.
Until recently, no one had known exactly who ALL the members of the Gang were. Apocryphal tales have been told about the identity of the mysterious Ferguson and his cohorts, as well as rumours of money delivered to the Trust, hidden inside a goose or cigar. The real stories are just as incredible.
Ferguson's Gang, the Remarkable Story of the National Trust Gangsters.
It's 1927. Britain's heritage is vanishing.
Beautiful landscapes are being bulldozed. Historic buildings are being blown up. Stonehenge is collapsing. Enter Ferguson's Gang, a mysterious and eccentric group of women who help the National Trust to fight back. The Gang raise huge sums, which they deliver in delightfully strange ways: Victorian coins inside a fake pineapple, a one hundred pound note stuffed inside a cigar, five hundred pounds with a bottle of homemade sloe gin. Their stunts are avidly reported in the press, and when they make a national appeal for the National Trust, the response is overwhelming. Ferguson's Gang is instrumental in saving places from Cornwall to the Lake District, a legacy of incalculable value. Yet somehow these women stay anonymous, hiding behind masks and bizarre pseudonyms such as Bill Stickers, Red Biddy, the Bloody Beershop, Shot Biddy and Sister Agatha.
The six women of Ferguson's Gang
Bill Stickers - Peggy Gladstone.
Brilliant at Cambridge, she inspired the all-women band to stop the
tentacles of suburbia spreading across the land. They pledged to
Frustrate the Octopus, their rallying cry,
'ENGLAND is STONEHENGE, not Whitehall.'
Sister Agatha - Brynnie Granger.
The dotty and charming Brynnie persuaded Peggy to dress up as
nuns and go to London Zoo. She would become Peggy's right-hand
woman and brought a sense of fun to Gang expeditions.
Red Biddy - Rachel Pinney.
Disowned by her family for her Communist beliefs. She trained as a
medical doctor and was dedicated to World Peace. The most notorious
member of the Gang who went to prison for kidnap.
Kate O'Brien the Nark - Joy Maw.
The level-headed Gang member who embroiled her father,
Silent O'Moyle, to deliver bags of silver to the
National Trust Headquaters.
The Bloody Beershop - Ruth Sherwood.
Ruth was the Gang's artist and spiritual head of the Gang.
Also called 'Is Bloodiness, she officiated at the Gang's
rituals and ceremonies.
Shot Biddy - Eileen Bertram Moffat.
Eileen worked in the rag trade in the East End of London.
She replaced Rachel (Red Biddy) and became Shot Biddy.
Illustrated in flamenco dress and a pistol she is depicted
on Ruth's map of London's underground rivers
And who was
Legacy
In 1927, the conservation movement was young, and the National Trust membership was tiny. Ferguson's Gang played a crucial role in putting the National Trust on the map. They highlighted the need for rural conservation, not just the big grand houses we associate with the National Trust today, but small vernacular buildings which typify everyday English life. Without the Gang's fundraising these buildings would not have survived. But perhaps even more important than the buildings was the massive popular following the Gang inspired. For two decades, their theatrical stunts were reported in all the national newspapers:
Ferguson Gang's £100 Bomb
Woman in Mask gives £500
SCOTLAND YARD KNOWS IT !
Masked Lady Weighed Down With Silver
Ferguson's Gang saved three rural buildings and significant tracts of the Cornish coastline for the nation
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Shalford Mill, Guildford, Surrey in 1932;
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Newtown Old Town Hall, on the Isle of Wight in 1934;
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Priory Cottages, Steventon, Oxfordshire 1938-46;
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Mayon and Trevescan cliffs, near Land's End, Sennen, Cornwall 1935.
as well as supporting many other conservation campaigns across Britain:
They are kept in perpetuity for us by the National Trust thanks to Ferguson's Gang.
Find out more ...
FERGUSON'S GANG, THE REMARKABLE STORY OF THE NATIONAL TRUST GANGSTERS
Published by the National Trust & Pavilion Books
SALLY BECK AND POLLY BAGNALL
Commissioned by the National Trust, researcher Polly Bagnall and journalist Sally Beck reveal the identities of these unlikely national heroines and tell the stories of their fascinating and often unconventional lives. We finally get to know the women who combined a serious mission with such a sense of fun.
Polly Bagnall grew up at Shalford Mill the first building Ferguson's Gang saved, and her grandfather was Jahn Macgregor, The Gang's architect, nicknamed the Artichoke. Polly's mother Joanna Bagnall lived at the mill until 2023 and was able to provide the true identities of the women. In 2012 Polly curated an exhibition at Shalford Mill, Taming the Tentacles, which was the first time archive material belonging to the Gang, such as their Minute Book, was on public display.
Ferguson's Gang, The Remarkable Story of the National Trust Gangsters is the only accurate history of the Gang. The authors are indebted to the friends and family of the Gang who have generously loaned original archive material.
Polly Bagnall
on Ferguson's Gang
Polly Bagnall on Ferguson's Gang
BARGAIN HUNT BBC 2015
Polly Bagnall on Ferguson's Gang
Midweek Radio 4 2015
Women's Hour- Joanna Bagnall and Penelope Adamson talk with Jenny Murray
Taming The Tentacles
a serious case of Octophilly
a film by Polly Bagnall. Ferguson's Gang defeat the Octopus, and other
humourous anecdotes. Sound Cathy Lane
BOOK OF THE MONTH
Ferguson's Gang
The Remarkable Story of the National Trust Gangsters
You don't often read 'gangsters' and National Trust in the same sentence, more surprising still to find out that the said 'gangsters' are a secret group of women. Operating pre-World War Two, they supported the National Trust with hard cash, and donations of property and land. They had fun doing it. They loved playing games and would deliver their 'swag' in ways we would recognise today as PR stunts. Those stunts netted a great many column inches and meant recognition for a young and struggling National Trust. Ferguson's Gang is one of those enjoyable histories that highlights forgotten and overlooked historical events, a look at a group of women whose passion for old buildings and unspoiled land meant that places like Sennen Cove can be enjoyed by everyone today. ~ Sue Baker
Lovereading.co.uk
November 2015 Book of the Month.
polly bagnall