Masked gang mystery

3:32pm Thursday 27th March 2008

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THE Ferguson Gang, whose masked female crusaders donated bags of silver to the National Trust, are among the items documented in new records at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre.

The gang rose to fame during the 1920s when members used to deposit large sums of money at National Trust offices with direct instructions for what it was to be used for.

One of their instructions was to acquire land close to Stonehenge.

In total it is believed that they raised around £4,500, a considerable sum for the time.

As a result of their donations, the National Trust was able to purchase Shalford Mill in Surrey, Newtown Old Town Hall on the Isle of Wight and stretches of coastline in Cornwall.

Details of the gang are given in the records of the National Trust, whose headquarters are in Swindon.

The records are being archived at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Cocklebury Road, Chippenham.

The archives, which will be open to the public, will include the original minute book and hand illustrated letters from members with such pseudonyms as Erb the Smasher and See Mee Run.

Historian Martin Peterson said: "The gang were brilliant in the sense that they raised huge amounts of money as well as raising awareness at the same time.

"The most memorable event was when a fully masked member, known only as Red Biddy, deposited a large sack of Victorian coins outside a National Trust secretary's desk.

"No-one had any idea how they managed to find them or where they had come from - it was a brilliant moment of intrigue.

"In the 1930s one of the members was interviewed by the BBC and she turned up in a full mask and refused to reveal her identity.

"I would urge anyone interested in early 20th century history or the National Trust to go along to the history centre."

The records map out the history of the National Trust and include hundreds of letters from children's author Beatrix Potter, who left a huge amount of land to the trust in her will.

Head of records and archives for The National Trust Iain Shaw said:"For the first time in the trust's history it offers the opportunity to bring the trust's organisational memory under one roof and in doing so allow us to offer access to material that has until now been unavailable."

Wiltshire County Council leader Jane Scott is delighted the National Trust is moving its collection. "It can only increase its popularity with the thousands of people who use it to learn more about the past," she said.

For details of the history centre, visit www.wiltshire.gov.uk/history-centre.htm.