Mister Matthews
The middle guy is Matthews--- Styles(left) and Oldroyd (right)
Name: Brian Matthews Gender: Male Age: 47 Information: Matthews has devoted thirty-five of his years to the Navy� and thus, entered when he was twelve. There was little other choice for him at that time, because his family could not support him and his sister Margaret� and one of them had to go. Brian was never bitter, and used the opportunity to grow as a man and spread his canvas, as it were. He took to the ship quickly, and taught himself (with some help from the Master of the ship) to read. With this essential skill, he was offered to become a midshipman at fifteen. Of course, with the opportunity to make more money, Brian jumped at the offer. All was going well until he developed a drinking problem � a result of too much wine at the mess table (it was so much stronger than grog!)� and after too many infractions of the articles, he was disrated and sent back below decks. Still, in time, he got back on his feet and proved himself reliable if nothing else. One days shore leave in Alexandria in 1778 yielded interesting results. Brian, then 21, found among some discarded scraps of trash a baby boy. Without much thought of how the boy might affect him in later years, or if he actually wanted to be a father, Brian adopted him and brought him back to England where his sister Margaret raised him for the first years of his life. This arrangement was very convenient, seeing that Margaret had just had a baby of her own... and another was little trouble to raise- so long as Brian sent back money to support him. When Archie was six, Brian brought him back out to sea and taught him all he knew� and through the years he has had the pleasure and joy of watching his son grow up to achieve great ranks� and hopes that he will continue to advance and lead a happy life with Diana Pulliams. Matthews has also abandoned the title of father to Archie now that he has assumed the role of a gentleman, but hopes secretly that his boy will still remember his roots, and be proud of them. Regardless, Mister Matthews is a happy fellow. He transferred to another ship after the awful experience aboard the HMS Restitution. He was very sad after his boy's death =(
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