Weds 21st May 2025
Bill’s life story is that of a man who has lived throughout Britain. Born in 1954 in Paisley, near Glasgow his family moved to Newcastle when he was 3 so his printer father could avoid strikes that were plaguing Scotland at the time. He attended school there, passing the 11+ and ultimately gaining 5 O-levels. Keen to start working, and earning, Bill entered the world of business as a Junior Lab Assistant at Winthrop Labs, then as an Assistant Scientific Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. It was here that he met and, in 1977, subsequently married Sue. The start of a long and happy life together.
Keen to expand his knowledge, Bill first studied for a National Certificate in Science, then gained an honours degree in Chemistry. This resulted in a promotion to Scientific Officer and a posting to Aberystwyth to carry out analysis of farm feeds for farms across central and southern Wales. But the itch to learn more was still there, so he returned to Newcastle on a bursary for a one-year MSc course. A difficult time for a young couple to spend so much time apart, but Bill and Sue coped.
A posting to Stratford-upon-Avon followed, but whilst the location was beautiful, the workplace was toxic. Bill managed to extract himself after 15 months when he was posted to Wye in Kent, where the wanderlust ceased. Shortly after, in a job that managed itself much of the time, Bill took interest in ways of managing and treating stress. A week-long summer course in massage therapy at Loughborough University was the first tentative step towards a significant career change.
More massage training followed, with Bill taking regular Fridays off work in order to fit it in. Ultimately the desire to follow this path was too strong, and in 1989 Bill resigned his job and devoted himself full-time to his practice. But the desire to learn more has never abated, and in the subsequent years he has become qualified in Osteopathy, Cranial Osteopathy and Acupuncture.
If you wish to contact Bill you can do so at mail@billferguson.co.uk or call 01580 762754. His website is at https://www.billferguson.co.uk/
