Lieutenant Commander George Edwin Matthews RN was the son of George Lipscombe Matthews, a Past Master of this Lodge, and was initiate in October 1912, and passed and raised over the following three months. He died on active service on 18 October 1918 from Double Influenza – influenza and bronchial pneumonia.
News of his death was received in Lodge on 30 October 1918, at the meeting his father was due to be installed in the chair. His father was installed but understandably did not stay for the Festive Board.
Matthews entered the Navy in Britannia’s September 1902 intake, coming seventy-fifth of seventy-seven in the competitive entrance examination. He passed out of the school in mid January, 1904 and served in Revenge, a battleship in the Home Fleet. in the Home Fleet. He served four months in Her followed by three years in Exmouth, a destroyer.
Matthews was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 31 December 1909. Matthews was appointed in command of the first-class torpedo boat TB 109 on 17 March 1912. On 2 July, he was lent to the Tribal Class destroyer HMS Crusader for the Annual Manoeuvres of 1912.
In early 1914, Matthews was hospitalised at Haslar for two weeks on account of a hip injury. Recovering he served in Orion from February 1914 until shortly after she participated in the Battle of Jutland.
On 19 June 1916 he was superseded in her and appointed soon thereafter in command of the destroyer Cockatrice.
He was congratulated for convoying Portuguese transports in a satisfactory manner in 1917. On 10 November, he rescued the survivors of the commissioned escort ship HMS Bostonian under difficult conditions after she had been torpedoed in the English Channel by U 53.
Matthews was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 31 December, 1917.
Having been admitted to Granton hospital with catarrh on 26 January 1918 for a month, he was found fit in mid-February.
Matthews died of influenza and bronchial pneumonia.
Matthews was posthumously awarded the Portuguese Military Order of Avis (Officer), gazetted 4 February 1921.
Matthews does not appear on the Masonic Roll of Honour. The reason for this is currently not known.