Immediately after qualification, William Mathews (“Bill”) joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and was posted to West Africa, from where he was transferred to the Field Ambulance training camp in Bombay and then to Burma. During his time in the Field Ambulance he had to deal with outbreaks of cholera and smallpox as well as the casualties of war. At the end of the second world war he returned to Northern Ireland and finished his training at the Royal Victoria Hospital.
He took up post as consultant ear, nose, and throat surgeon in Coleraine and Ballymoney Hospitals in 1953, where he remained until his retirement. In terms of the provision of hospital services he was a man of vision, believing that some centralisation of specialist services at the expense of the smaller hospitals in Northern Ireland would be necessary—an unpopular opinion in the 1960s.
Bill joined the St John Ambulance in 1958 and was divisional president from 1980 to 1997. In 1987 he was admitted to the Order of St John as a serving brother and was promoted in 1996 to officer brother.
On retirement, he served the local community as a Coleraine borough councillor for 24 years, representing the cross community Alliance Party, and strived tirelessly for a more pluralist Northern Ireland. Bill was a very committed rotarian and was awarded one of the club's highest accolades, the Paul Harris fellowship at sapphire level. He was a very skilled bridge player and keen gardener.
He leaves a wife, Hazel; two children; and four grandchildren.
Former ear, nose, and throat surgeon Coleraine, Northern Ireland (b 1917; q Queen's University, Belfast, 1940; FRCSEd), d 20 July 2007.