Person

Born in Greenside, near Ryton, in February 1884 to colliery lamp maker James Richardson and his wife, Isabella, Matthew was one of three siblings. By the time he was aged 16 he was working as a railway clerk. In 1909 Matthew married Fannie Arkle and on 23 April two years later they were arriving in Canada, having crossed the Atlantic on the SS Lake Manitoba, making for Winnipeg and for Matthew, a job as a clerk.

By 1915, they were living in Calgary and Matthew was working as a clerk for the Canadian Pacific Railway. When he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) on 16 June he listed Fannie, about to return to England, as his next of kin. Matthew became Private 522707 posted to the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and attached to C section, No. 1 Canadian Field Ambulance. Promoted to corporal whilst still in Canada, on arrival at camp at Shorncliffe, Kent, he was again promoted to the rank of sergeant in the CAMC training depot. By December he was working in the offices of the Assistant Director of Medical Services at Shorncliffe, where he was promoted to staff sergeant in June 1916.

May 1917 saw Matthew suffering from ptomaine poisoning and gastritis after eating tinned fish, which left him with problems for the rest of his time in England and a medical category of B2, sedentary work only. Posted to the Canadian Red Cross Hospital in Buxton, Derbyshire, he became a patient there in November 1918 with influenza and again in April 1919 with scabies. With the closure of the unit at Buxton, Staff Sergeant Richardson spent his last few months in England at camp in Witley, Surrey, before returning to Canada on the SS Lapland on 9 August 1919, a ship which Fannie also sailed on as a dependent. By the time of the 1921 Canadian census they had settled in Calgary and Matthew was working as a ticket agent for the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Matthew Richardson died in Victoria General Hospital, British Columbia on 21 January 1932. He was suffering from tuberculosis, which was attributed to his service in the CEF. He is buried in Royal Oak Burial Ground, Saanich, British Columbia.

Civil Parish: Ryton

Birth date: 16-Feb-1884

Death date: 22-Jan-1932

Armed force/civilian: Army

Residence: 35 Stargate, Greenside, Ryon (birthplace)
29 Sugley Street, Lemington-on-Tyne (1911 census)

Religion: Church of England

Employment: Clerk (1901 census)
Ticket clerk for CPR (1921 Canadian census)

Family: Parents: James Richardson, Isabella Richardson nee Liddell
Siblings: Robert Richardson, Mary Florence Richardson
Wife: Fannie Richardson nee Arkle

Military service:

522707
Staff Sergeant
Canadian Army Medical Corps

Medal(s): British War Medal, Victory Medal

Gender: Male

Contributed by Jean Longstaff, Durham