Fr Matthew was a monk for over sixty years; a Priest for fifty years. Before he was a monk he was a soldier, being of the generation that did military service, and he fought in the jungle in Malaysia. He was a tall, strong man, whose long and interesting life was mostly behind him when he arrived at Pluscarden nearly twenty years ago.
Homily given by Fr. Abbot Anselm at the funeral Mass of Br. Gabriel, 29 July 2022
In a funeral Mass for Br. Gabriel, it is important to recall the facts of his life: That he was a Lancashire man. That he was born into a loving family, which accompanied him all his life and still does, in the persons of his brother Nigel and his nephew James. That his first job after school was as labourer in a Liverpool engineering works.