British politician and journalist
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.[3] His Welsh father was a police sergeant. He attended Ashton-under-Lyne Grammar School. Following 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.[4][5]
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 Daily Telegraph obituary claimed he was "rangy, articulate, but dour... a political loner, and not over-popular on the Tory benches." However, it listed many achievements as MP and in other spheres.[6] He served as Minister for 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".[7]
Academia
For a brief period while an MP, Griffiths worked as a professor at the University of California, Irvine,[1] a role in which The Times said led to him being called the member for Orange County.[8]
Director appointments
Griffiths was a director of one of Gerald Carroll's Carroll Group companies.[9]
Personal life
In June 2013, aged 88, he announced his third marriage, to Susan Donnell.[10]
Honours
He was a Freeman of the borough of St Edmundsbury.
