Hilda and Matson: A Story of Love, Grief, and Solace

Major George ‘Matson’ Nicholas swept Hilda Rix off her feet.

And it was meant to be.

Before meeting, Hilda’s life had been wracked with tragedy. Her family had left Australia in 1907 after her father died. Hilda found comfort in painting.

Then the Great War erupted.

The family evacuated from Étaples to England.

Soon after, Hilda’s sister died from typhoid. In 1916 Hilda’s mother also died. ‘I could scarcely put one foot in front of the other,’ she recalled.

Yet in the depths of despair, Hilda met Matson. Their meeting seemed like providence.

When Matson had been based in Étaples, he had stumbled upon Hilda’s paintings, which she had left in her abandoned studio.

Her paintings mesmerized Matson.

He travelled to London to pursue Hilda.

They met in September 1916. Love blossomed.

Hilda grief lifted. Matson embodied everything she sought in a man. A schoolteacher before the war, Matson had been awarded the Distinguished Service Order on the Somme for attacking a machine-gun post.

A world-wind romance followed, culminating with Matson receiving his award at Buckingham Palace, and their marriage days later.

Matson was then recalled for duty.

The news ‘frightened’ Hilda. ‘Be brave and splendid and always your best,’ she wrote. ‘But don’t be wreckless. I need you and love you utterly.’

Matson never received Hilda’s letter.

He was killed at Flers in November.

Ravenous grief consumed Hilda: ‘I would have died … had I been allowed.’

After a period of mourning, Hilda returned to painting for solace.

Matson’s death affected her work, which became deeply melancholic.

In one sketch, Hilda painted the moment Matson was shot, his arms outstretched in crucifixion.

Hilda returned to Australia in 1918 and immersed herself in painting the archetypical soldier. ‘The Man’, when finished, bore a striking resemblance to Matson.

Hilda offered her works to the war memorial, but she was told that some were too intimate for the collection.

Hilda’s work later achieved acclaim in France, where she had a solo exhibition in 1925.

She died in 1961, aged 77.

For an extended version of this post and Hilda’s works:

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