George Pengwerne Matthews Collection

Loose pages of an album of photos owned by George Pengwerne Matthews (Gwerne or G.P.M.) featuring service personnel and scenes circa World War 1 (WWI / World War I) including Burpengary, Sandgate, Enoggera. Includes Wallace Washington Brown of Burpengary and the property of Colonel Wallace Brown.

Photos from his album include Wallace Washington Brown who lived and enlisted from Burpengary during WWI. The name Pengwerne is still being used by George’s descendants. 

The album was located in Toronto, Canada, at an estate sale and donated to the City of Moreton Bay Local History collection, having been identified by the purchaser as containing images related to the Moreton Bay region. 

The full album as well as each individual photograph has been digitised.

About George Pengwerne Matthews

George Pengwerne Matthews (G.P.M. or Gwerne) was born in 1898 in Sandgate, Queensland, Australia to his parents George Frederick Matthews and Maude Mary (Lightbody) Matthews.

Gwerne first enlisted in the Australian Military Force on the 30 April 1917 at the age of 19, to serve in the First World War, service number 2342. Prior to enlisting, Gwerne had been completing studies in dentistry. By 1918 Gwerne was 2nd Lieutenant in the 6th squadron Australian Flying Corps.

Gwerne was deployed to Europe in throughout 1918, having first left Australia on the 5 November 1917 onboard the Troopship ‘HMAT Port Sydney’ from Sydney.

Gwerne spent much of his service, stationed in Britain. Personal images from Gwerne's deployment show photos of him in Scotland, Oxford, Shrewsbury, Uxbridge, Wendover, Paris, and Gloucestershire. In Gloucestershire, Gwerne was stationed at the Minchinhampton aerodrome, which served as the aerodrome for the Australian Flying Corps throughout the war.

Gwerne was a Lieutenant of the No. 6th squadron within The Australian Flying Corps which was based within England throughout World War I. Formed on 15 June 1917, the No. 6 Squadron served as a flying training unit of the Australian Flying Corps (AFC). The squadron used a variety of aircrafts including the Bristol Scout D, Sopwith Pup, Arvo 504, Royal Aircraft Factory S. E. 5., Sopwith Camel and the Airco DH.5.

Photos presumably taken by Gwerne throughout his deployment demonstrate that he flew a variety of aircraft including the Sopwith Pup, Sopwith Camel, A D.H.9. as well as the Handley Page V/1500. The Handley Page V/1500 was a British night-flying heavy bomber aircraft with four engines. Gwerne personally successfully flew a Handley Page V/1500 from Shotwick to Tern Hill with 15 passengers. Captions of images taken by Gwerne refer to its as the ‘Handley Page Machine’ or the ‘Handley Page Elephant’ as a testament to the size of this large aircraft.

Gwerne returned home from duty on 3 May 1919.

On his return to Australia, Gwerne relocated to Sydney where he completed his dentistry studies at the University of Sydney. Gwerne was a registered member of the Register of Dentists New South Wales by 1921.

He married landscape artist, Rosalie Crossland Pulsford in 1926. Their son John Pengwerne Matthews was born 22 October 1927.

In 1928 the family relocated to America in order for Gwerne to complete his doctorate at Harvard University and take up a position as an assistant professor of anatomy. By 1929 he had completed his Doctor of Dental Medicine (D.M.D.). In 1931 the family moved once again, this time to Montreal Canada.

In 1924 Gwerne accepted a more senior position at the University of Edinburgh where he received his Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) and his Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS).

The family returned to Australia some time in late 1934 in order to try and mitigate their son’s episodes of pneumonia which had begun while in Edinburgh. On the family's return to Australia, Gwerne resumed his dentistry practice in Sydney.

In 1947 John Pengwerne Matthews completed a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Melbourne and his external LL.B. (A Bachelor of Laws (Latin: Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners.) from the University of London. In 1948 John began his practice as a barrister but within two years was disillusioned with the practice. During this period John made the decision to join the RAAF Reserve where he was commissioned Pilot Officer on the 16th of February 1951.

In 1951, having stepped back from practicing law, John took up a place at Geelong Grammar school where he taught German, English and some History. John had resumed studies during this period and soon completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) with majors in History and English in 1952 from the University of Melbourne.

Sometime between 1953 and 1954 began his Ph.D in Toronto, Canada where John would later meet his wife, Pilot Officer Flora Jean Cameron Gilchrist in 1954.

John’s father George Pengwerne Matthews died on the 6th of September 1962 in Gosford, New South Wales, Australia.

Rosalie Crossland Matthews died in June of 1978 in New South Wales.

John Pengwerne Matthews remained in Canada until his own death in 1997.

George Pengwerne Matthews Service Record [Link to National Archives of Australia]

MATTHEWS George Pengwerne, born 30 June 1898 - military officer's record of service [Link to National Archives of Australia]