William Hugh Griffiths, Baron Griffiths, MC, PC (26 September 1923 – 30 May 2015) was a British soldier, cricketer, barrister, judge and life peer. The son of Sir Hugh Griffiths, he was educated at

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

. During the Second World War he served in the Welsh Guards, receiving a Military Cross in 1944 for an action in which he disarmed a German tank. Griffiths was called to the

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, Inner Temple in 1949, and became a Queen's Counsel in 1964. From 1962 to 1964, he was

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of Margate, and from 1964 to 1970 of Cambridge. In 1971, Griffiths was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

and was made Judge of the High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division, a post he held until 1980. Between 1980 and 1985, he was

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Justice ...

, and between 1985 and 1993

Lord of Appeal in Ordinary Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

, and was created, on 23 May 1985, a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

with the title Baron Griffiths, of

Govilon Govilon ( cy, Gofilon) is a small Welsh village located between Llanfoist and Gilwern near Abergavenny in north Monmouthshire. It is part of the community of Llanfoist Fawr. the population was 1,447 in 2011. Attractions The Monmouthshire an ...

, in the County of Gwent on his appointment. Griffiths married three times: first Evelyn Krefting in 1949; and after her death in 1998 he married Heather Renwick Brigstocke, the former High Mistress of St Paul's Girls' School, on 22 January 2000. She was killed in a car accident in 2004. She had been created Baroness Brigstocke in 1990; they were one of the few couples who both held titles in their own right. In July 2009, he married Greta Fenston. He had four children by his first wife: three daughters and one son. He died on 30 May 2015 at the age of 91.

Other

Griffiths holds the unique distinction of having been both president of Marylebone Cricket Club and captain of

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is one of the oldest golf clubs in the world. It is a private members-only club based in St Andrews in Scotland. It was previously known colloquially as "The R&A", but in 2004, a new organisation kn ...

.''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', 2016 edition, p217. In cricket, Griffiths was a fast bowler. At Cambridge University, he won

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

for cricket in 1946, 1947, and 1948, recording career-best figures of 6 for 129 against Lancashire in 1946. He also made eight appearances in the County Championship for

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

, taking 4 for 61 against Surrey on his debut in 1946.Profile
cricketarchive.com; accessed 1 June 2015. In all, he played 38 first-class matches, taking 102 wickets at an average of 31.47.

Sources

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Hugh Griffiths, Baron 1923 births 2015 deaths Knights Bachelor Law lords Crossbench life peers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Members of the Inner Temple British barristers English cricketers of 1946 to 1968 British Army personnel of World War II Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club Welsh Guards officers Recipients of the Military Cross Free Foresters cricketers Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Cambridge University cricketers Glamorgan cricketers Spouses of life peers Place of birth missing Place of death missing