Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2012/January 2013 | Page 55

FEATURE

implements were adapted to fit
tractors, and Ferguson tractors
were seen on virtually every
farm in the country. Then in
1938 there was another major
breakthrough when Ferguson
met Henry Ford, founder of
the Ford Motor Company. The
two engineering giants secured
a ‘handshake agreement’ for
Ford to build ‘Ford Ferguson’
tractors in the US, and for
Ferguson to market them.
The agreement ended when
Henry Ford died, and the
next Ford generation called
an abrupt halt. But defiant
Ferguson then built a tractor

factory in Detroit – right in
the heart of Ford car territory
– and production began within
nine months. In the meantime
he supplied tractors to the US
from his factory in Coventry,
and he eventually won a law
suit against the Ford empire
for ending the agreement –
but only after five years of
courtroom haggling.
When Peter Warr began
working for Ferguson in 1950,
the company had 65 per cent
of the world tractor market.
And Ferguson’s salesman
skills came to the fore on one
occasion inside the famous

Claridge’s Hotel, London.
He displayed a tractor inside the hotel, and
when one member of the Press doubted its
versatility, he promptly pirouetted it on the
ballroom, before driving it down the staircase
and out of Claridge’s, with onlookers left
open-mouthed! The stunt made the front page
of ‘The Times’ the following day.
An amalgamation in 1952 saw Ferguson
tractors become Massey Ferguson, and a year
later Ferguson sold the business to concentrate
on his other great passion, motor racing.
Incredibly, even in those days he had
the vision that cars would be safer with
four-wheel drive and anti-skid braking.
He teamed up with racing driver and
former prisoner of war Tony Rolt to
design cars, and in 1954 a prototype
with many of the safety features of
today’s cars was actually built. No one
would manufacture it, probably because
in fact it was far ahead of its time!
However, they also built the Ferguson
P99 racing car, and although Ferguson
died in 1960 his motor racing legacy
lived on when his car, driven by
Stirling Moss, won the Oulton Park
Gold Cup a year later. It was also the
only four-wheel drive car ever to win
a Grand Prix.
The Ferguson Family Museum
provides a fascinating glimpse into days gone
by in the fields of aviation, agriculture and
motor racing. Not surprisingly enthusiasts
flock to the comparatively small but captivating
museum, and once inside it is easy to see why.
Visits are by appointment and the
museum can also be offered as a venue for
meetings for interested clubs or groups.
For further information visit website www.
ferguson-museum.co.uk or contact Peter Warr
or Mandy Miles on 01983-756050.

Top: Harry Ferguson with his Mark VI Bentley at Abbotswood.
Inset: The Ferguson P99 racing car driven by Stirling Moss at Oulton Park 1961.
Right: The R3 prototype Ferguson car 1953.

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