Walter John Mathams

MATHAMS, Walter John. b. Bermondsey, London, 30 October 1853; d. Swanage, Dorset, 29 January 1931. He went to sea as a young man, and then took part in the Alaska gold rush. He subsequently decided to train for the Baptist ministry, entering Regent’s Park College, London, in 1874. He became a pastor at Preston, Lancashire, but was forced to give up because of ill health. On recovery, he became a pastor at Falkirk (1883-88) and Birmingham (1888-1900). He then joined the Church of Scotland, serving as chaplain to the Scottish forces in Egypt, from which came a book of ‘Sketches of Soldier Life’, entitled Comrades All (1899), with a foreword by Field-Marshal Lord Roberts. He became a minister...