Re Te Tai Mathews
Born 25 Nov 1922 - Died 2 Nov 1942
- Service number
- 39717 AWMM
- Also known as
- Ritetai AWMM
- Retetai AWMM
- Matthews AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Last rank
- Private Soutar, M. (2008). Nga tama toa & Gardiner, W. (2019). Ake ake kia kaha e! 28 (Maori) Battalion Soutar, M. (2008). Nga tama toa & Gardiner, W. (2019). Ake ake kia kaha e!
- War
- World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM
About
- Title
- —
- Forenames
- Re Te Tai AWMM
- Surname
- Mathews AWMM
- MatthewsPublic - Maraea Sarah - Other relative - 23 May 2018 - This is the correct spelling of our family name. Double 't' not single 't'.
- Ingoa
- —
- Also known as
- Ritetai AWMM
- Retetai AWMM
- Matthews AWMM
- Service number
- 39717 AWMM
- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
- Iwi Māori, Māori AWMM
- Tairawhiti, Māori AWMM
Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 25 Nov 1922 AWMM
- Date of birth
- b. 1918Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 10 October 2023 - https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/retetai-matthews
- Place of birth
- Rangitukia, East CoastPublic - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 10 October 2023 - https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/retetai-matthews
- Birth notes
- Son of Pae and Maraea Matthews, of RangitukiaPublic - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 10 October 2023 - https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/retetai-matthews
- Address before enlistment
- Pre 13 Feb 1940 AWMM Te Whaiti, Whakatane, New Zealand AWMM
- Post war occupation
- —
- Next of kin
- Mrs Maraea Mathews (mother), Rangitukia, Gisborne, New Zealand AWMM
- Mrs Maraea Matthews - surname mis-speltPublic - Maraea Sarah - Other relative - 23 May 2018 - My father, Hata Matthews, was Re Te Tai's only sibling. We have always spelt our surname with a double 't'.
- Relationship status
- Unknown AWMM Single AWMM
Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM
- Campaign
- —
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Service number
- 39717 AWMM
- Military service
- —
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
- —
Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
- 1939-1945 Star AWMM
- Africa Star AWMM
- Defence Medal AWMM
- War Medal 1939-1945 AWMM
- New Zealand War Service Medal AWMM
Training and Enlistment
- Military training
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- Branch Trade Proficiency
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- Enlistment
- WW2 13 Feb 1940 AWMM
Age 17 AWMM
Labourer/Civilian AWMM - Age on enlistment
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- Occupation before enlistment
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Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW2 Private AWMM 28 (Maori) Battalion AWMM Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Second Echelon AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
- —
- Days interned
- —
- Liberation date
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- POW liberation details
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- Liberation Repatriation
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- POW serial number
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Medical history
- Medical notes
- Height, Unknown Period AWMM
5 foot 5.5 inches AWMM - Complexion, Unknown Period AWMM
Dark AWMM - Eye colour, Unknown Period AWMM
brown AWMM - Hair colour, Unknown Period AWMM
Black AWMM - Killed in Action, Cause of Death AWMM
- Height, Unknown Period AWMM
Last known rank
- Last rank
- Private Soutar, M. (2008). Nga tama toa & Gardiner, W. (2019). Ake ake kia kaha e!
28 (Maori) Battalion Soutar, M. (2008). Nga tama toa & Gardiner, W. (2019). Ake ake kia kaha e! - Last rank
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Biographical information
- Son of Pae and Maraea Matthews, of Rangitukia
Identified as B and C Company (Soutar, 2008)
Described as 21 years and 90 days old when he enlisted, he was 5 ft 51/2 inches tall, with dark complexion, brown eyes and black hair.
Private Mathews gave his birth date as 1918 which meant he enlisted before he was 18 years. He was therefore only 20 when he died.
He had entered camp at Palmerston North on 27 February 1940. He went first to the United Kingdom and left there on 4 January 1941 for Egypt. He arrived in Egypt on 4 March 1941 and re-embarked for Greece on 25 March. He was next reported safe in Egypt having made his own way back there as many did. (Cody. (1956) chapter 4, pps 70-77).
The action in which he died took place on 1-2 November between Tell el Eisa railway station and Ghazal (map Cody (1956) p. 209). C Company of 28 Battalion (OC Captain W.M. Awarau) took up position after midnight their final objective being Tell el Aqqaqir. A last minute adjustment to the plan was made because of the need for a battalion to supply protection to the flank advancing on the Sidi Abd el Rahman track. The 28 Battalion therefore came under the command of 151 Brigade for the operation.
Cody's account reads: 'C Company advanced about a quarter of a mile before it was fired on, then machine guns and mortars opened at close range and the Ngatiporou went at them with levelled bayonets. The enemy were Germans and, in the words of General Montgomery, it was a real killing match as the company stabbed, grenaded, and tommy-gunned its way through an area thick with machine and anti-tank guns.
Cohesion in the company was lost in the fight and its members fought singly and in sections; Lieutenant Haig reached the objective with ten men and then had to go another 200 yards to silence more machine guns; Lieutenant Jackson, after dealing with strongposts that had been missed by the first wave, got to his objective with five men; Captain Awarau and Lieutenant Rangiuia were both wounded.'(Cody (1956). pp. 238-9)
Private Mathews does not appear to have survived this action.
When he was killed, he was buried on 2 November 1942 in Egypt, Map Reference. Ghazal 1-50,000 86743007. Notification of this was sent to Base Records Office in Wellington on 18 February 1943. Later that year, 29 October 1943 Base Records were advised that he had been re-interred on 15 June 1943 at El Alamein Military Cemetery, Grave No. 13, Plot 14, Row H, Map Reference 8860,2946. This was later re-numbered 1. His medals were sent to his mother in March 1950.
Falsified age and date of birth at enlistment; so was only 20 years when killed. Whanau advise correct name is Re Te Tai (2011). Listed by CWGC and Soutar as Matthews and by Cody as Mathews. Christian name spelled as Ritetai in Soutar (which will be corrected in 3rd ed) and Retetai in the Nominal Roll and by by CWGC AWMM
About death
- Death
- 2 Nov 1942 AWMM
Age 20 AWMM - Date of death
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- Age at death
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- Place of death
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- Cause of death
- Killed in Action AWMM
- Death notes
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- Cemetery
- El Alamein War Cemetery, Egypt AWMM I. H. 13. AWMM
- Cemetery name
- —
- Grave reference
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- Obituary
- BEREAVEMENT NOTICE
Mathews. —Mrs. Maraea Mathews (mother of Private R. Mathews) wishes to thank sincerely all friends and relatives for their letters and telegrams of sympathy in her very sad loss.Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 10 October 2023 - GISBORNE HERALD, VOLUME LXX, ISSUE 21032, 2 MARCH 1943, PAGE 1 - Memorial name
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- Memorial reference
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Memorial
- Memorial name
- Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War 2 Hall of Memories AWMM
Related objects
Sources
- External links
- Cody, J. (1956). 28 (Maori) Battalion. Wellington: Dept. of Internal Affairs, War History Branch. Digital copy.
https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/webarchive/20210104000423/http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Maor.html
Sources Used - 28th Maori Battalion Website 1941-1945
http://www.28maoribattalion.org.nz/
Sources Used - 28th Maori Battalion Website 1941-1945. Personal page
http://www.28maoribattalion.org.nz/soldier/re-te-tai-matthews
Further Reference - Commonwealth War Graves Commission record
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2210444
Sources Used
- Cody, J. (1956). 28 (Maori) Battalion. Wellington: Dept. of Internal Affairs, War History Branch. Digital copy.
- References
- Auckland Museum. Roll of Honour, Auckland Province, 1939 - 1945. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS 93/139.
- Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. (1941). Nominal Roll Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force No. 2 (Embarkations to 30th June, 1940). Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
WW2 2: WW2 127 - Soutar, M. (2008). Nga tama toa = The price of citizenship : C Company 28 (Maori) Battalion 1939-1945. Albany, N.Z.: David Bateman.
Portrait published in Soutar (2008) - Gardiner, W. (2019). Ake ake kia kaha e! : Forever brave! : B Company 28 (Maori) Battalion, 1939-1945. Auckland : Bateman Books.
- Cody, J. (1956). 28 (Maori) Battalion. Wellington, N.Z.: Department of Internal Affairs, War History Branch.
- Information kindly provided by family
- McClymont, W. (1959). To Greece. Wellington, N.Z.: Department Internal Affairs, War History Branch.
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