Medal for Bravery – Arthur Mathewson to the Rescue

Sailing in the St. Lawrence has always required a combination of skill and daring. The water is unpardonably cold. Navigating the shoals and sandbanks is a challenge. Hypothermia can occur within just minutes of being dumped in the frigid waters.  

William Cream was a good sailor and Hugh Savage a fine swimmer. But when their sailboat overturned in September, 1946, Cream lost consciousness. Savage clung on for his life. Metis resident Arthur Mathewson saw their boat capsize from his shoreline home. He drove to the beach and got into his own boat. Aided by Mr. Turcot, they rowed out in Mathewson’s dinghy and saved the two men by fishing them out of the cold water. 

Mathewson was a lifelong sailor. Having grown up in Metis, he knew the waters well and was himself a fine skipper. Lawyer, politician and veteran of the First World War, Mathewson had failed in his attempt to become the mayor of Montreal. Elected to the Legislative Assembly as the member for Notre-Dame-de-Grace in 1939, he served as provincial treasurer in the government of Adélard Godbout until 1944.  

When the news emerged of Mathewson’s lifesaving exploit, he was hailed as a hero. Newspapers suggested that Cream would have perished without Mathewson’s courageous unselfishness. He was given a bravery medal in 1946. He sloughed it off, humbly accepting the medal for having done what came naturally.