2-673-775 - Historic England Archive/Heritage Images

Cheque for £25,000 made payable to British inventor Harry Grindell Matthews, 1915. Matthews (1880-1941) was an inventor best known for his claim to have invented a 'death ray' in the 1920s. This cheque was paid to Matthews by the British government, following the outbreak of the First World War, for his invention of a remotely controlled weapon against Zeppelins or unmanned vehicles.