Sir Charles David Griffin

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(8 July 1915 – 25 March 2004) was an Australian lawyer and businessman, and the

Lord Mayor of Sydney The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Sydney is the head of the Council of the City of Sydney, which is the local government area covering the central business district of Sydney in the State of New South Wales, Australia. The Lord Mayor has be ...

from 1972 to 1973. He was a prisoner of war at

Changi Changi () is a planning area located in the geographical region of Tanah Merah in the East Region of Singapore. Sharing borders with Pasir Ris and Tampines to the west, Changi Bay to the southeast, the South China Sea to the east and the Sera ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and a poet. Always known as David, Griffin was born in

Leura Leura ( postcode: 2780) is a suburb in the City of Blue Mountains local government area that is located west of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the series of small towns stretched along the Mai ...

in the Blue Mountains and was educated at Cranbrook. In 1941 he sailed for Malaya and was present in

at its fall to the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese in 1942. A prisoner of war in Changi for three years, he was released in 1945. He returned to the legal profession in Sydney. He was elected to the council of the

City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...

in 1962 representing the

Civic Reform Association The Civic Reform Association, variously known as the Civic Reform Movement and the Citizens' Reform Association, was an Australian non-aligned ratepayers' organisation that was formed by approximately seventy people at the Sydney Town Hall on 20 ...

, before becoming Lord Mayor in 1972. Griffin had been involved in radio and the theatre, and in 2002 published a book of poems written in Changi, including ''The Happiness Box''. While in Changi, he collected many poems written by Australian and British soldiers there, and kept them in a cardboard box for over 45 years before releasing them. He retired to

Mittagong Mittagong () is a town located in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The town acts as the gateway to the Southern Highlands when coming from Sydney. Mittagong is situated at an elevation of . The town ...

in the Southern Highlands of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, and died on 25 March 2004.

Honours

In 1972 Griffin was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for "services to industry", and appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

in 1974 for "services to the community".http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1083509&search_type=quick&showInd=true

References

External links

Obituary

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

, 10 April 2004
Changi Days
– transcript of "Compass" programme by

Geraldine Doogue Geraldine Frances Doogue (born 29 April 1952) is an Australian journalist and radio and television presenter. Career After graduating from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Doogue intended to train as a scho ...

includes reminiscences by Griffin and his wife, Jean 1915 births 2004 deaths Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Civic Reform Association politicians Mayors and Lord Mayors of Sydney World War II prisoners of war held by Japan People educated at Cranbrook School, Sydney Australian prisoners of war {{Australia-mayor-stub