BOTTLE CAP TRICKERY
The Black Watch’s Sir Bernard Fergusson commanded one of Orde Wingate's Chindit columns in Burma during the Second World WaR and liked to give the impression of being a little eccentric. His monocle failed to impress some Australian troops when they first paraded in front of him. Next day, the Aussies all went on parade with beer bottle caps over one eye to mock their new commander. Fergusson took one look at the Aussies and threw his monocle in the air – catching it in his eye socket when it dropped. “Now do that,” he told the mocking Antipodeans. The Aussies quickly realised they were dealing with no ordinary Pommie officer. Fergusson’s career was to be derailed when he helped cover-up the murder of a Jewish teenager in Palestine in 1947 by former SAS man Roy Farran. Fergusson was Farran’s boss in the Palestine Police. Farran would go onto become Solicitor General of Alberta in Canada.
Next Week - THE CURSE OF SCOTLAND