Henry James Matthews, born on 12th April 1888, was admitted to King Edward’s School in September 1901. He was the only son of Mary and Fred, an overseer at Yardley District Council, and lived with them and his three sisters on Woodlands Road, Moseley.
Henry does not appear in the School magazines, probably due to his relatively short tenancy at the School of almost three years. He did not excel generally but showed an aptitude for languages, particularly French. After School, Henry worked as a clerk in the Rate Office, probably for Yardley District Council like his father.
In 1914, Henry joined the Royal Army Medical Corps as a Private Soldier, attached to the 3rd South Midlands Brigade Field Ambulance. He served in France and Egypt before travelling to Palestine in November 1915, attached to the 1st Royal Gloucestershire Yeomanry. He died of wounds received between Gaza and Hebron in Jerusalem on 17th November 1917, aged twenty-nine. He is commemorated on the Jerusalem Memorial, and he left his estate of £480 to his father.