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Eldon Griffiths

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Sir Eldon Griffiths
Minister for Sport
In office
19 June 1970 – 4 March 1974
Prime MinisterEdward Heath
Preceded byDenis Howell
Succeeded byDenis Howell
Member of Parliament
forBury St Edmunds
In office
14 May 1964 – 16 March 1992
Preceded byWilliam Traven Aitken
Succeeded byRichard Spring
Personal details
Born(1925-05-25)25 May 1925
Wigan,Lancashire,England
Died3 June 2014(2014-06-03)(aged 89)
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)
Sigrid Gante
​
​
(m.1949;div.1985)​

Betty Stannard
​
​
(m.1985; died 2010)​
[1]
Susan Donnell
​
(m.2013)​
[2]
Children2, includingJohn Griffiths
Alma materEmmanuel College, Cambridge
ProfessionJournalist and farmer

Sir Eldon Wylie Griffiths(25 May 1925 – 3 June 2014) was a BritishConservativepolitician and journalist.

Early life[edit]

Griffiths was born on 25 May 1925 inWigan,Lancashire.[3]HisWelshfather was a police sergeant. He attendedAshton-under-Lyne Grammar School.Following theSecond World Warservice in theRoyal Air Forcehe gained a double first class degree in history fromEmmanuel College, Cambridge,and an MA fromYale University.[4][5]

Career[edit]

Journalism[edit]

After university Griffiths worked in theConservative Research Departmentand became a journalist and farmer. He was managing editor ofNewsweek.

Political career[edit]

He became the MP forBury St Edmundsafter a by-election in 1964, and represented the seat until he retired in 1992. HisDaily Telegraphobituary claimed he was "rangy, articulate, but dour... a political loner, and not over-popular on the Tory benches." However, it listed many achievements as MP and in other spheres.[6]He served asMinister for Sportduring theEdward Heathgovernment of 1970 to 1974. He also served as parliamentary spokesman for thePolice Federation.In 1985, he was made aKnight Bachelorfor "political service".[7]

Academia[edit]

For a brief period while an MP, Griffiths worked as a professor at theUniversity of California, Irvine,[1]a role in whichThe Timessaid led to him being called the member for Orange County.[8]

Director appointments[edit]

Griffiths was a director of one ofGerald Carroll'sCarroll Groupcompanies.[9]

Personal life[edit]

In June 2013, aged 88, he announced his third marriage, to Susan Donnell.[10]

Honours[edit]

He was a Freeman of the borough ofSt Edmundsbury.

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"GRIFFITHS, Sir Eldon (Wylie)".Who's Who & Who Was Who.Vol. 2024 (online ed.). A & C Black.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
  2. ^Sir Eldon Griffiths obituary,theguardian.com, 4 June 2014.
  3. ^Langdon, Julia (4 June 2014)."Sir Eldon Griffiths obituary".The Guardian.Retrieved14 June2014.
  4. ^Eldon Griffiths Obituary in the Daily Telegraph.Retrieved 4 June 2014
  5. ^Eldon Griffith obituary in The GuardianRetrieved 4 June 2014
  6. ^Daily Telegraph, London 4 June 2014
  7. ^"No. 50154".The London Gazette(Supplement). 15 June 1985. p. 1.
  8. ^Kidd, Patrick."Times Diary".The Times.Retrieved17 November2021.
  9. ^"SFO looks at 500m fall of Carroll empire", Dominic O'Connell,Sunday Business,1 October 2000, p. 1.
  10. ^Former MP of Bury St Edmunds to marry for third time at the age of 88,Bury Free Press. Accessed 18 January 2023.

External links[edit]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of ParliamentforBury St Edmunds
1964–1992 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Sport
1970–1974 		Succeeded by


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