Sir William Matthews Knight Commander of the Order of Street Michael and Saint George was a British civil engineer
Background
Matthews was born in Penzance to John and Alice Matthews, John Matthews was, at that time, the borough surveyor for Penzance. William spent a few years working for his father as an assistant surveyor before gaining work as chief assistant to John Coode.
Education
He was educated at Glenalmond College and King"s College London.
Career
His most notable works with the firm were harbours and docks, many of which were undertaken for the Admiralty, and include works on Dover Harbour, Singapore Docks and the Grand Harbour in Valletta, Malta. He also undertook inspections of Cape Colony, Ceylon, Cyprus, Hong Kong and Malta harbours for the British Admiralty. On 9 July 1906 he was appointed to a Royal Commission to investigate tidal and coastal flooding in the United Kingdom.
He was also made an officer of the Belgian Order of Léopold in 1894 in recognition of his work on Zeebrugge Harbour.
Membership
He became an associate member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1870, a full member in 1876 and served as president between November 1907 and November 1908.