John Ferguson (police officer)
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Major Sir John Frederick Ferguson CBE OStJ (c.1891 – 27 May 1975) was a senior British police officer.
Ferguson passed out from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Durham Light Infantry on 14 February 1912. He retired from the Army with the rank of Major in 1933 and joined the Metropolitan Police, being appointed Chief Constable in the Commissioner's Office on 1 November 1933. On 1 September 1935 he was promoted to Deputy Assistant Commissioner and took command of No.4 District (South London). From 1 September 1938 to 1939 he was Commandant of the Metropolitan Police College. He rejoined the Army in 1940 after the outbreak of World War II, but soon returned to the Metropolitan Police.
On 1 April 1943 he was appointed first Chief Constable of the new Sussex Joint Police Force, the short-lived result of an amalgamation between the forces of East Sussex, West Sussex, Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings and Hove.
On 1 November 1945 he returned to the Metropolitan Police as Assistant Commissioner "A", in charge of administration and uniformed policing. He stayed for less than a year before being appointed Chief Constable of Kent in July 1946. He was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) on 10 June 1948 and was knighted on 1 June 1953. On 1 July 1955 he was made an Officer of the Order of St John. He retired on 31 October 1958.
In 1961 he was appointed, along with Lord Bridges, to investigate the theft of Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery.
| Police Appointments | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by H. G. F. Archer |
Deputy Assistant Commissioner, No.4 District, Metropolitan Police 1935–1938 |
Succeeded by H. G. F. Archer |
| Preceded by Gordon Halland |
Commandant, Metropolitan Police College, Hendon 1938–1939 |
Succeeded by Unknown |
| Preceded by First incumbent |
Chief Constable of Sussex 1943–1945 |
Succeeded by Unknown |
| Preceded by John Nott-Bower |
Assistant Commissioner "A", Metropolitan Police 1945–1946 |
Succeeded by Philip Margetson |
| Preceded by Sir Percy Sillitoe |
Chief Constable of Kent 1946–1958 |
Succeeded by Geoffrey White |
