Eldon Griffiths
Sir Eldon Griffiths | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Bury St Edmunds | |
| In office 15 October 1964 – 9 April 1992 | |
| Preceded by | William Traven Aitken |
| Succeeded by | Richard Spring |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 May 1925 Wigan, Lancashire, England |
| Died | 3 June 2014 (aged 89) |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | Emmanuel College, Cambridge |
| Profession | Journalist 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 a junior minister for Environment and 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
- ^ Langdon, Julia (4 June 2014). "Sir Eldon Griffiths obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
- ^ Eldon Griffiths Obituary in the Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 June 2014
- ^ Eldon Griffith obituary in The Guardian Retrieved 4 June 2014
- ^ Daily Telegraph, London 4 June 2014
- ^ "No. 50154". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 June 1985. p. 1.
- ^ "SFO looks at 500m fall of Carroll empire", Dominic O'Connell, Sunday Business, 1 October 2000, p. 1.
- ^ [1] Bury Free Press
- The Times Guide to the House of Commons, Times Newspapers Ltd, 1966 & 1987
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
External links
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- 1925 births
- 2014 deaths
- People educated at Ashton-under-Lyne Grammar School
- Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
- Yale University alumni
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- Government ministers of the United Kingdom
- Knights Bachelor
- UK MPs 1959–64
- UK MPs 1964–66
- UK MPs 1966–70
- UK MPs 1970–74
- UK MPs 1974
- UK MPs 1974–79
- UK MPs 1979–83
- UK MPs 1983–87
- UK MPs 1987–92
- Royal Air Force personnel of World War II
- Politicians awarded knighthoods
- Conservative MP (UK), 1920s birth stubs
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