The Rt Hon The Lord William "Hugh" Griffiths (Honorary Fellow) 1923-2015

The Rt Hon The Lord Griffiths of Govilon, MA, MC, Honorary Fellow of St John’s College since 1985, has died aged 91.

Lord Griffiths, former Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and Honorary Fellow of St John's, decorated for courageous actions in WWII, has died aged 91 on 30 May 2015.

Lord Griffiths was born in 1923 in London and educated at Charterhouse School. He served with the Welsh Guards during the Second World War, earning the Military Cross in the process.

While serving with the Second Tank Battalion at the advance of the Guards from Brussels, he volunteered to investigate a report of enemy “Panther” tanks in the region. Taking only his own tank, he sighted one of the Panthers, moved into position, and destroyed it with three shots. He kept on advancing until he saw the three remaining Panthers, which swiftly withdrew. Griffiths pursued the enemy and was able to destroy a further two transport vehicles.

The citation to his MC noted that by “taking on single-handed the Panther attack”, Griffiths had broken up “what might have been a serious attack on our left flank, an attack which might have altered the decision of a battle”.

After the war, Griffiths came up to St John’s to read Law. A keen sportsman, he won Blues for cricket each year from 1946-1948 and also earned a Golf Blue in his final year as an undergraduate. He played cricket professionally for Glamorgan during their championship-winning season in 1948.

Griffiths received his BA in 1948, and was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1949, after which he worked as a Barrister, taking silk in 1964. He served as Recorder of Margate from 1962-64 and Recorder of Cambridge from 1964-70 before making a full switch to the Judiciary in 1971, when he became a Judge of the High Court of Justice in the Queen’s Bench Division.

Knighted in 1971, Griffiths was appointed Lord Justice of Appeal in 1980 and became a member of the Privy Council. Five years later he became a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, and joined the House of Lords as a Life Peer.  Following his lifelong passion for cricket and golf, he became President of the MCC at Lord’s in 1990. He also served as Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf club at St Andrews in 1993.

Following his retirement in 1993 Lord Griffiths continued to work as an arbitrator and mediator in international and domestic commercial and other disputes. He celebrated his 90th birthday in 2014 with a dance at the Inner Temple.

Lord Griffiths is survived by his widow Greta, three daughters and a son from a former marriage, as well as three stepsons and two stepdaughters.