Early Life :

Service Life:

Campaigns:

• The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.

Natural causes is attributed those deaths due to causes that were not directly associated with the war. Included in this are wartime deaths resulting from, for example, theSpanish Influenza pandemic and its associated pneumonia problems and other attributions such as age and exhaustion. It also groups those who through Post Traumatic Stress committed suicide as a result of their experiences.

Detail :

Lieutenant Commander George Edwin Matthews, Royal Navy. Died on active service of pneumonia, 18th October, 1918.

Probate MATTHEWS George Edwin of the United Service Club Pall Mall Middlesex lieutenant-commander Royal Navy died 18 October 1918 at South Queen's Ferry North Britain Administration London 29 May to George Lipscombe Matthews solicitor. Effects £3924 6s. 7d.

George is buried Queensferry Municipal Cemetery, South Queensferry, West Lothian, Scotland

Masonic :

George is listed as a 25 year old employed by the Royal Navy, with a care of resident of the U.S. Club, Pall Mall at the time of initiation in 1912. There is no explicit war service recorded in the contribution register, but he remains a subscribing member until the time of his death, shown "Died 18.10.18."

An extract of the History of Victoria Rifles Lodge shows:

"MATTHEWS George Lispcombe (George's father) Joined the Lodge aged 49 in November 1907. After progressive Offices from Inner Guard in 1909 to SW in October 1913, he was elected WM on 25th March 1914. The outbreak of World War I prevented him from being installed as he was under orders to proceed to India with his Regiment on 28th October 1914. He was greeted on his return 27th March 1918 and re-elected WM. His son George Edwin Matthews had been initiated in October 1912, passed in November 1912 and raised in January 1913. He was a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and his death on active service was most unfortunately reported to the Lodge the very night that his father was installed Master on 30th October 1918. Bro. Matthews was duly installed but did not stay to the Festive Board."

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• The (UK) National Archives
• Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
• ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry

Additional Source:

• Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
• Researcher : Bruce Littley