8 Feb 2021 HELP FOR VETERANS: Jan Downie meeting Princess Dianna. Right, Jo Ferguson, from Staindrop A FORMER army doctor from Staindrop has revealed how a charity scheme has not only helped her through the Covid-19 lockdown but has also found her a new friend. Jo Ferguson has retired from the Royal Army Medical Corps after 30 years’ service. She signed up to the Women’s Royal Army Corps association’s Buddy Buddy scheme in the hope of providing support to another woman at the start of the pandemic. What she did not realise at the time was that she would strike up a friendship with 70-year-old fellow veteran Jan Downie who lives hundreds of miles away.