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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
for Bury St Edmunds
In office
15 October 1964 – 9 April 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
Alma materEmmanuel College, Cambridge
ProfessionJournalist and farmer

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

Early life

Griffiths was born on 25 May 1925 in Wigan, Lancashire.[1] His Welsh father was a police sergeant. He attended Ashton Grammar School. After the Second World War service in the Royal Air Force he gained a double first class degree in history from Emmanuel College, Cambridge and an MA from Yale University.[2][3]

Career

Journalism

After university Griffiths worked in the Conservative Research Department and became a journalist and farmer. He was managing editor of Newsweek.

Political career

He became the MP for Bury St Edmunds after a by-election in 1964, and represented the seat until he retired in 1992. His Telegraph obituary claimed he was "rangy, articulate, but dour, (Griffiths was) a political loner, and not over-popular on the Tory benches" However it listed many achievements as MP and in other spheres.[4] He served as Minister for Sport during the Edward Heath government of 1970 to 1974. He also served as parliamentary spokesman for the Police Federation. In 1985, he was made a Knight Bachelor for "political service".[5]

Director appointments

Griffiths was a director of one of Gerald Carroll's Carroll Group companies.[6]

Personal life

In June 2013 he announced his third marriage, at the age of 88.[7]

He lived in California and Bury St Edmunds.

Honours

He was a Freeman of the borough of St Edmundsbury.

Title and style of address

  • Eldon Griffiths (1925-1964)
  • Eldon Griffiths MP (from 1964)
  • Sir Eldon Griffiths MP (from 1985-1992)
  • Sir Eldon Griffiths (from 1992)
  • Honorary Freeman Sir Eldon Griffiths (from 2007)

References

  1. ^ Langdon, Julia (4 June 2014). "Sir Eldon Griffiths obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  2. ^ Eldon Griffiths Obituary in the Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 June 2014
  3. ^ Eldon Griffith obituary in The Guardian Retrieved 4 June 2014
  4. ^ Daily Telegraph, London 4 June 2014
  5. ^ "No. 50154". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 June 1985. p. 1.
  6. ^ "SFO looks at 500m fall of Carroll empire", Dominic O'Connell, Sunday Business, 1 October 2000, p. 1.
  7. ^ [1] Bury Free Press
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Bury St Edmunds
19641992
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Sport
1970–1974
Succeeded by