Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

Sir John Norton-Griffiths, 1st Baronet, (13 July 1871 – 27 September 1930) was an engineer,

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

and the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. A colourful figure in his day, known as "Empire Jack" or "Hellfire Jack", he was also the grandfather of

Jeremy Thorpe John Jeremy Thorpe (29 April 1929 – 4 December 2014) was a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament for North Devon from 1959 to 1979, and as leader of the Liberal Party from 1967 to 1976. In May 1979 he was tried at th ...

, a leading British politician. pp. 11-20

Early life

John Norton-Griffiths was born John Griffiths in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

on 13 July 1871. He was the son of John Griffiths (1825-1891), a building contractor initially of

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...

, Wales (later of London), at the time of his son's birth clerk of works at St Audries Manor Estate,

West Quantoxhead West Quantoxhead is a small village and civil parish in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England. It lies on the route of the Coleridge Way and on the A39 road at the foot of the Quantock Hills, from East Quantoxhead, from Wil ...

. He had an unsettled youth and left home at the age of 17.Obituary: Sir John Norton-Griffiths. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', Monday, 29 September 1930 (p. 14, Issue 45630, col B). After a generally wasted education he spent a year, in 1887–1888, as a trooper with the Life Guards. before travelling to the

colony of Natal The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to ...

"John-Norton Griffiths: A Rhodesian Pioneer"
July 1969, "Rhodesiana" magazine, vol 20 and shortly on to

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

, where he worked as a 'sub-manager' at a gold mine at the age of 17.

Military career in Africa

In 1896 on the outbreak of the

Second Matabele War The Second Matabele War, also known as the Matabeleland Rebellion or part of what is now known in Zimbabwe as the First ''Chimurenga'', was fought between 1896 and 1897 in the region later known as Southern Rhodesia, now modern-day Zimbabwe. ...

he joined Lieut.-Colonel Edwin Alderson's Mashonaland Field Force, then in 1897 was commissioned into the

British South Africa Police The British South Africa Police (BSAP) was, for most of its existence, the police force of Rhodesia (renamed Zimbabwe in 1980). It was formed as a paramilitary force of mounted infantrymen in 1889 by Cecil Rhodes' British South Africa Company, from ...

. In the

, he served briefly with Brabant's Horse, then as Captain Adjutant to Lord Roberts' bodyguard.

Marriage and family

In 1901, Norton-Griffiths married Gwladys, daughter of Thomas Wood, a distillery owner (Browning, Wood & Fox). Together they had four children: * Ursula (1903–1992), who married

John Thorpe John Thorpe or Thorp (c.1565–1655?; fl.1570–1618) was an English architect. Life Little is known of his life, and his work is dubiously inferred, rather than accurately known, from a folio of drawings in the Sir John Soane's Museum, to whic ...

, and was the mother of

* Peter (1905–1983), who succeeded his father as 2nd Baronet * Phoebe (1906–1976), who married Edward Bromilow Joynson, M.B.E., of Pear Tree Cottage,

Churt Churt is a village and civil parish in the borough of Waverley, Surrey, Waverley in Surrey, England, about south of the town of Farnham on the A287 road towards Hindhead. A nucleated village, clustered settlement is set in areas acting as its b ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

* Michael (1908–1940), Captain in the 135 Excavating Company

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

, killed in action in

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 ...

, having married and had a daughter. Sir John was a keen supporter of

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

and was a director of Arsenal F.C. between 1928 and 1930.

Engineer and MP

Norton-Griffiths was awarded contracts to carry out major engineering projects in Africa and South America. These included work on the first 197 km of the Benguela Railway in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

between 1903 and 1908. He was elected to Parliament in 1910 and was until 1918 the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

's MP for

Wednesbury Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. Historically part of Staffordshire in the Hundred of Offlow, at the 2011 Census the town had a population of ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

. From 1918 until 1924 he was the Conservative MP for Wandsworth Central in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

First World War

In 1914 at the start of the

, Norton-Griffiths raised the 2nd King Edward's Horse at his own expense and was commissioned

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the regiment.Tony Bridgland and Anne Morgan 2003). ''Tunnelmaster and Arsonist of the Great War: The Norton-Griffiths Story''. Pen & Sword Books Ltd. Using the experience from a successful engineering career, Norton-Griffiths built many fortifications for the Entente on the Western Front. An enigmatic figure, Norton-Griffiths took to touring the trenches in a battered

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

loaded with crates of fine

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

Tunnelling companies

In early December 1914, Norton-Griffiths wrote to the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

that his tunnelling workers could be useful for the war effort, but his letter was not acted upon. However, on 20 December 1914,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

sappers A sapper, also called a pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing fie ...

placed eight mines beneath the positions of an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Brigade in

Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A farming village situated west of La Bassée, east of Béthune and southwest of Lille, at the junction of the D166 and t ...

. The detonation and follow-up attack led to the loss of 800 men, and following further attacks, it was evident by January 1915 that the Germans were mining to a planned system. Lord Kitchener contacted Norton-Griffiths on 12 February 1915, and by the end of the month eighteen "Manchester Moles" sewer men were in France as founding members of 170 (Tunnelling) Company, Royal Engineers.

Oilfield sabotage

In 1917 he was sent to sabotage the

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

oil field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...

s ahead of a

advance. Colonel Norton-Griffiths used such techniques as dumping cement down the wells, filling tanks with nails, and emptying storage wells and then setting them on fire. He was able, almost single-handedly, to destroy seventy refineries and 800,000 tons of crude oil. General Ludendorff of the German army was later quoted as saying, ''We must attribute our shortages in part to him.'' German efforts later got some of the Romanian fields back online for the war effort, but they were never able to recover fully. A more sceptical view of his activities was expressed by career diplomat Lord Hardinge of Penshurst. He wrote: " n 1917we had sent a special mission to Roumania under Col. Norton-Griffiths M.P. to destroy both the oil wells and the supplies of grain. Whether the mission succeeded may be judged by the fact that within six months all of the wells that had been destroyed were in working order and large supplies of oil and grain dispatched to Germany and Austria. But the head of the special mission received a

K.C.B. The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as o ...

for his efforts!". He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

in 1916. He changed his name by deed poll in 1917, taking the additional surname "Norton". He was knighted in 1917 and promoted

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in 1918 (although he had temporarily also held the rank in 1916), and made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1922."''...conferring the dignity of a Baronet of the said United Kingdom upon each of the undermentioned gentlemen and the heirs male of their respective bodies lawfully begotten...''"
28 July 1922, "The London Gazette"

Last years in Egypt

After the First World War, his business and engineering career faltered, and his health began to deteriorate. His construction firm took on a contract to carry out the heightening of the

Aswan Low Dam The Aswan Low Dam or Old Aswan Dam is a gravity masonry buttress dam on the Nile River in Aswan, Egypt. The dam was built at the former first cataract of the Nile, and is located about 1000 km up-river and 690 km (direct distance) south ...

at an unrealistically low price. He was facing the possibility of financial ruin and perhaps even criminal prosecution. On 27 September 1930, while in Egypt dealing with some problems which had arisen with this dam project,"Famous Contractor's Death: Suicide in Egypt"
29 Sep 1930, Page 10, "The Sydney Morning Herald" Sir John took a rowboat from the beach of the Casino Hotel near

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, Egypt. Sometime later, the boat was found empty, and a search party was launched. They soon retrieved Sir John's body, floating in the water, with a bullet wound through the temple. No weapon was found, but the coroner's court gave a verdict of suicide. His body was brought back to England and he was buried at

Mickleham, Surrey Mickleham is a village in south east England, between the towns of Dorking and Leatherhead in Surrey. The civil parish covers and includes the hamlet of Fredley. The larger ecclesiastical parish includes the majority of the neighbouring villag ...

, on 18 October 1930 at the age of 59 years old. His widow Gwladys survived him, dying in 1974 at the age of 101.

In popular culture

Norton-Griffiths appears as a character in the 2021 British film, ''

The War Below ''The War Below'' is a 2021 British war film directed by J.P. Watts, in his directorial debut, and written by Watts and Thomas Woods. It was released in the United Kingdom on 10 September 2021. The film is also distributed in Germany, France, Gree ...

'', which is a fictionalised account of the tunnelling operations prior to the Battle of Messines. He was played by

Tom Goodman-Hill Tom Goodman-Hill is an English actor of film, television, theatre and radio. Early life Brought up near Newcastle upon Tyne, he qualified as a teacher before turning to acting. During his time in Newcastle, he regularly acted in amateur perform ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Norton-Griffiths, John 1871 births 1930 suicides Military personnel from Somerset Burials in Surrey People from West Somerset (district) Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British Militia officers British military personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 Arsenal F.C. directors and chairmen Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir Tunnel warfare in World War I British politicians who committed suicide Suicides by firearm in Egypt British South Africa Police officers