Mayor

Councillor Terry Matthews became the 789th Mayor of Southampton on 18 May 2011 following his term as Sheriff of the City.

I was born in May 1945 in Redcar Street, Shirley, Southampton, the eldest of three children. In 1948 I was admitted to the Lord Mayor Treloar hospital in Alton in order to correct a congenital hip disorder. I remained in hospital for four years, having undergone many operations and finally returning home aged seven and still unable to walk. However, I was able to go to school and I attended Shirley Infants & Junior School.

In 1955/56 the family moved from Shirley to Millbrook as the area in and around Redcar Street was earmarked for a large regeneration scheme. The only landmark left in Redcar Street is the Windsor Castle pub on the corner next to Sainsburys and the horses drinking trough in the precinct.
I moved back to Shirley in 1968 when I married my wife, Lesley. We have two children, Peter and Pru and four grandchildren.

As with many of my generation born in Southampton I worked in industry and was very fortunate to be employed by Standard Telephones & Cables. Whilst at STC I became a member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply. Throughout my career I continued working in purchasing/materials management roles until finally ending up at British Gas in an Engineering Department which dealt with what was then the new technology of mobile phones and remote stations controlling Gas holders.

It was at British Gas I became a Pension Trustee, a post I held for 10 years until my early retirement from the industry in 2002.

Since becoming a councillor in 2002, elected to represent the Shirley Ward, my roles have been Chairman of the Employment Panel, Chairman of the Overview & Management Committee, Chairman of the Appeals Panel, Cabinet Member for Workforce Planning and Cabinet Member for Young People & Skills.

In 2010 I was honoured by my fellow councillors to become the Sheriff of the City of Southampton. In that year I was the 573rd Sheriff of Southampton. On Wednesday May 18 2011 I became the 789th Mayor of Southampton

My Mayor's charities for 2011/2012 are Alzheimer’s Research Trust and Gift of Sight Appeal.

Gift of Sight

The Gift of Sight Eye Research Centre is based at Southampton General Hospital and is managed by the University of Southampton. This charity was set up in 2004 by Professor Andrew Lotery who was one of a team of researchers who discovered the first gene to be linked to AMD. This was a world leading medical breakthrough.

The Charity funds research into a range of diseases that causes blindness, the main areas of research are:-

Age related conditions such as AMD (Age-Related Macular Degeneration).
Glaucoma and -
Inherited and childhood conditions

The Combined research of Gift of Sight and colleagues around the world has resulted in significant number of patients now having treatment that brings a significant improvement to their sight.

Patients across the UK can drive, read and go out independently again.

The people of Southampton and the wider community across the South have the benefit of being first in line for any progress in treatments to eye conditions.

Professor Lotery currently has several junior ophthalmologists training in the Gift of Sight Research Centre so that they too may become clinical scientists.

Alzheimer's Research UK, is also based at Southampton General Hospital

The basis of their research relates to the toxic proteins that build up in the brain during Alzheimer's. Southampton scientists are on a quest to find out why these proteins build up, it could be over-production, under-clearance or both.

More of us are being affected by this disease, whether directly or indirectly. The facts and figures about the impact of Alzheimer's and other dementia's make sobering reading.

The economic cost is as much as that of cancers, heart disease and stokes combines.

However, the investment in research is a fraction of that on the other three.

The Mayor's Office provides support for the Mayor and Sheriff. The office manages their diaries and provides information and guidance for groups and organisations who wish to invite the Mayor to events.