Born 1939, Terry Matthews began playing with the newly formed Whitley Bees at the age of seventeen, and soon became a regular member of the team. When the Bees folded in 1961, he moved south to Cheshire joining another new club, the Altrincham Aces, and also iced a short spell with the Brighton Tigers. In the 61/62 season, he was voted “Most promising young British player,” and also made the first of his six trips to the World Championships, in Colorado Springs USA.
Following his season with the Aces, he headed back to the North East joining the reformed Durham Wasps before returning to Whitley Bay to become captain of the Warriors. After coaching the Warriors for two seasons, Matthews became player/coach to the GB national team in the early seventies.
Following his final appearances in the World Championships, the 1976 tournament held in Poland, he retired for a year before making a comeback as player/coach of the Billingham Bombers. He remained as coach of the GB team, in a non-paying capacity, for the 1977 Pool C tournament and coached the 1980/81 under-19 squads. Matthews crowned his final playing season, 1979/80, by leading the Bombers to a very respectable second place in the First Division.
In 1986, he rejoined the Whitley Warriors as bench coach and guided the club to the English final of the Norwich Union Cup, coaching with all the intensity and enthusiasm that he exhibited in more than twenty years of playing at domestic and international level.
At the time of his induction into the Hall of Fame, Terry Matthews stood in sixth place on Great Britain’s all-time list of goalscorers, with thirteen.
In 1998, in a ceremony at the Newcastle Telewest Arena in further recognition of his services to ice hockey particularly in the North East of England, along with Hep Tindale, Alfie Miller, Peter Johnson and his own brother Kenny, Terry Matthews was one the first five inductees into the North East Wall of Fame.
Compiled with research, provided by Martin C.Harris & Tony Boynton – 1987.
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