Matthew Arnold Francis was killed by Japanese troops during the occupation of Thailand in 1942, at the age of 59.
He received his training at the Royal School of Mines, where he gained a first class associateship and the De la Beche Medal in 1906. In March, 1906, he was appointed to the staff of the Borneo Co., Ltd., in whose service he remained for over five years, assisting at the Brusch Hydraulic Tin Mining Co., Perak, and later at the Pahang Consolidated Co., Ltd., where in 1908 he was appointed underground manager.
In 1911 he returned to England, and left for South Africa in January, 1912, to take up the position of assistant engineer at the Brakpan mine. In March of that year he went to Nigeria as manager of the Benue (Northern Nigeria) Tin Mines, Ltd.
On the outbreak of war in 1914 he returned to England and joined the Welch Regiment as a private, ultimately attaining the rank of Major and being mentioned in dispatches. On demobilization in 1919 he entered the employment of Kanbauk (Burma) Wolfram Mines, Ltd., first as assistant and in 1920 as manager, in which capacity he worked until 1930. During this time he also reported on mineral deposits in the Tavoy district of Burma, in Portugal and in Newfoundland. From 1930 until his death he was a partner in the firm of Park & Francis, Ltd., mining engineers and consultants at Kuala Lumpur, Federated Malay States. His firm were the local consulting engineers to Thailand Tin Mines, Ltd., and he was in Thailand on a visit of inspection at the time of his death.
Mr. Francis was elected a. Student of the Institution in 1906, and [was transferred to Associateship in 1911 and to Membership in 1924.
Vol. 52, Trans IMM 1942-43, p.395
