Angus was the son of Scottish immigrants George Matheson and Mary Matheson (née Curtis) and brother of James Matheson (22840) and William Matheson (46750).
He was called up in November 1916 and immediately appealed against being conscripted into the army. His evidence to the Military Service Board in January 1917 gave a good account of the demands of the farm.
But the long reach of the military eventually caught up with Angus, and by September 1917 he was in Featherston Camp in the Wairarapa. Here he appeared before a medical board. Heart problems and sciatica meant that he walked ‘lame’ and could not walk without pain and difficulty. “We do not think this man will ever make a soldier”, was the medical board’s conclusion. Another army doctor noted that “This man seems of a debilitated type. He seems little likely to get permanently over his irregular cardiac palpitations. He has exhibited in addition joint pains”. He was discharged from the army.
Angus’s own medical history should have indicated that he wasn’t fit for battle, but in 1917 the army was desperate for more soldiers. In early 1916 he had been in bed for 4 months with pneumonia, and had since then suffered from shortness of breath. He had a persistent rapid heartbeat. Despite this, the medical examination when he joined up in March 1917 graded him as ‘Fit Class A’.
Angus returned to Lawrence. He did not marry, and died at Balclutha in 1951 aged 67.
Mt Benger Mail 24 January 1917