Full time called on Gary's 40-year career
A former editor from the Black Country, who rose to become a managing director of a newspaper group in the South East, has announced his retirement after a 40-year career in newspapers.
Gary Matthews started his career on an editorial training course with the Express & Star and Chronicle series' parent company the Midland News Association in 1973.
After working through the ranks from junior reporter covering Wombourne and Sedgley, he became the newspaper's sports editor.
He was the launch editor for the new free edition of the Wolverhampton Chronicle around 1980. "I was a very young editor on such a well-known newspaper at the age of 25 or 26 and it was Christmas come early for me and I absolutely loved it," said the 57-year-old, who now lives near Bishop's Stortford.
Mr Matthews was born in the former Wordsley Hospital in 1955 and lived at The Old Cat Inn in Wordsley, where his mother Winnie was landlady. His father, Tom, was a glasscutter at Stuart Crystal and used to do a full day's work there before going behind the bar at The Old Cat.
After attending Lawnswood County Primary School, then at Brierley Hill Grammar School, Mr Matthews joined the MNA reporters' training scheme at its offices in Castle Street, Wolverhampton. He was group Chronicle editor as the number of editions grew to include Dudley, Walsall and West Bromwich among others.
He had been a keen footballer from his school days, playing for Wolves as a junior before his journalism career took off.
Mr Matthews joined Willenhall Town in 1975, scoring more than 400 goals in a nine-year spell. He also played for Stourbridge and Dudley Town.
After leaving the Chronicle in 1986, his roles included group editor and MD at Herts and Essex Newspapers. He also served as managing director of Staffordshire Newspapers before returning as editor for the Mercury series in Hertfordshire.
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