Griffith John Griffiths was born in Barry on 23 September 1901. He was educated at Barry County School and Cardiff University before qualifying from the Middlesex Hospital. He was then in the Royal Air Force Medical Branch for three years on a short service commission in Egypt and Iraq before returning to junior hospital posts in London. After passing the FRCS in 1929 (he and his brother, Iorwerth Havard Griffiths, were reputed to be the first brothers in Wales to become Fellows) he joined a general practice in Bedford where he was appointed to the honorary staff of Bedford County Hospital. At the inception of the NHS in 1948 he gave up general practice and was appointed as consultant surgeon to Bedford County Hospital. He served his hospital with distinction, was Chairman of the Medical Committee and was known as a wise and sound teacher as well as an able general surgeon. His gentle manner and innate kindliness endeared him to all; he was a sensitive man with a great sense of fun. A dedicated musician, steeped in classical music, he was an excellent pianist, his greatest loves being Mozart and Beethoven, and especially the late Beethoven sonatas. He had two children, both of whom became musicians and, after the death of his first wife, he later married again. He died in his own hospital, in his 86th year, when he was survived by his wife and the children of his first marriage.