Over 100 years of news in Wilgeheuwel man’s garage
Former Londoner's newspaper treasure chest a sight for any history buff
When the electricity is off and the computers are rendered useless, the power of the hardcopy newspaper reigns supreme.
The musty smell and grainy feel of stored history bursts from a box kept in the garage of Peter Matthews. The 87-year-old Londoner turned South African has a remarkable collection of the greatest stories ever committed to print. From Jack The Ripper’s grisly carvings and Queen Victoria’s 1897 Diamond Jubilee, to the every significant moment of World War II, Peter owns a history buff’s treasure chest.
At almost 200 pieces, some not just front pages but entire newspapers, the collection of originals and reprints showcase some of the most iconic works of British publications such as The Times, Daily Mail, Daily Express and the now defunct News of the World. Other notable pieces include the rescue at Dunkirk, an original copy of a tribute to the then-recently deceased King George V, a cross-section of the Titanic and many great sporting moments.
While Peter’s collection has a very Eurocentric theme, there is one special item of South African significance which details the capture and escape of a 25-year-old Winston Churchill during the Boer War. Not just a collector of war stories, he has his own to tell. As a young boy in 1940’s London, his family escaped to the countryside to avoid Germany’s bombardment of his home city.
Peter brought all the items with him, along with three and half tons of other personal belongings, when he moved to South Africa in 1972. A cash register technician by trade, collecting has always been a hobby of his, with the newspapers possibly the least commendable. Peter amassed an impressive Meccano collection, which is a scale mechanical engineering simulator that was displayed for many years at Gold Reef City before being sold to Christie’s London.
The contagious collecting gene has also been passed on to young members of his family, as his granddaughter has a roughly 100 character collection of The Lord of the Rings proudly displayed in their home. Not hell-bent on letting his collection go to waste, Peter is happy to hand his gems over for the right amount of shillings. History is to be made, but also valued and preserved.
