Robert William Griffiths (May 28, 1896 – January 29, 1962) was a British farmer and businessman whose principal interests lay in dairy farm production in
Wales. The Griffiths philosophy was to explore all markets, pinpoint the best and gear production to exploit it. He was appointed
High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire in 1953.
Family
The son of
Montgomeryshire
Montgomeryshire, also known as ''Maldwyn'' ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town"), is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county tow ...
Councillor Robert Griffiths of Cynhinfa and his wife, Mary Anne Tudor; the eldest of four children.
He was descended in an unbroken male line from
Brochwel Ysgithrog through the
Princes of Powys,
Elisedd ap Cyngen
Elisedd ap Cyngen ap Cadell
Biography
He was a son of Cyngen ap Cadell the last King of Powys of the Gwertherion ( Vortigern) Dynasty who claimed descent through Brochwel Ysgithrog. Cyngen died in Rome in 855 having fled the aggression of Gwyned ...
and Ieuan, the older brother of
Sir Gruffudd Vychan.
His family had lived in
Montgomeryshire
Montgomeryshire, also known as ''Maldwyn'' ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town"), is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county tow ...
for as long as records are available.
His 19th century ancestors were active in the
Welsh Methodist revival, one of whom married the Welsh hymn-writer
Ann Griffiths.
He was educated at
Llanfyllin British School and The Oaks Institute,
Liverpool.
He married Florence Gethin in 1922 with whom he had his only child Barbara in the same year.
Dairy farming
During
World War I he started farming a rented 99 acre hill farm at Garthllwyd with six Blue Albion milking cows and a hand-operated separator. As the herd grew, he was unsatisfied by the
low price he could get for his milk locally, so started to produce cream that he sold to
Harrods
Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...
in London. In 1926 he moved to a larger farm, Woodlands at Forden,
Powys where he
renovated the farm buildings and equipment, enlarged his herd, improved their productivity and then expanded further by renting other farms in the area.
By 1937 R.W. Griffiths was milking cows on .
In the 1950s he bought Woodlands and then the Walcot Estate near
Lydbury North from the
Earl of Powis, which had come
into his family when
Robert Clive
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British ...
purchased it on his return from
India in 1760.
R.W. Griffiths built up his prize winning Montgomery Herd of tubercular tested pedigree
Friesian
cows at Woodlands by introducing bulls from as
far away as the Netherlands and Canada. To further his pedigree breeding plans he became a partner in one of the first artificial insemination
and progeny testing companies in the UK. In 1961 he won the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society's coveted Sir Bryner Jones Memorial Award for an exceptional contribution to dairy farming in Wales.
He was a prominent member of the
National Farmer's Union, and a member of the regional Committee of the Milk
Marketing Scheme when it was established in the 1930s – later to become
Dairy Crest. He was a council member of the
Royal Welsh Agricultural Society responsible for the establishment of the permanent grounds
for the
Royal Welsh Show at
Llanelwedd near
Builth Wells
Builth Wells (; cy, Llanfair-ym-Muallt) is a market town and community in the county of Powys and historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), mid Wales, lying at the confluence of rivers Wye and Irfon, in the Welsh (or upper) part of ...
in mid Wales. Because of his interest in the
future of agriculture he became a governor of the
University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and a
member of the Agricultural Research Council, following one of whose meetings in London he died in 1962.
National Milk Bars
R.W. Griffiths founded Direct TT Supplies Ltd in 1933 to market the milk products of his farms directly to the public through National Milk Bars. The bars had black and white chequered floors, jukeboxes and
gleaming chrome fixtures, with stools beside bars selling milk and related products.
At the end of
World War II he was operating 11 milk bars and the Four Crosses Creamery,
Llanymynech
Llanymynech is a village straddling the border between Montgomeryshire/Powys, Wales, and Shropshire, England, about 9 miles (14 km) north of the Welsh town of Welshpool. The name is Welsh for "Church of the Monks". The village is on the ba ...
– later operated by
Dairy Crest.
At their height, there were 17 National Milk Bars in North Wales and North West England where
65% of the milk, cream, pigmeat, eggs, bread and confectionery sold came from R.W. Griffiths'
bakery, creamery and farm. In the 1960s
The Beatles frequented the milk bar in Lime Street,
Liverpool and many teenagers followed their example.
Classic Cafes
/ref>
High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire
In recognition of his achievements as a farmer and businessman he was appointed High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire
in 1953, and was responsible for events in the county relating to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
.
In 1956 Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
awarded him the honour of Commander of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.
References
External links
Portraits of RW Griffiths at the National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Robert William
1896 births
1962 deaths
People from Montgomeryshire
Welsh farmers
20th-century Welsh businesspeople
High Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire