Biography:

Dr. Geraint Griffith was born in London, England on the 21st of June, 1928.  Dr. Griffith parents were Dr. Idris Melyndwr Griffith and the former Gwen Davies. His mother’s father Dr. Morgan Davies, was a medical physician and Mrs. Griffith had a younger brother named Geraint Davies who was killed in Belgium on the 14th of April, 1918, during WWI.  Mrs. Griffith’s other younger brother Gwylon also became a physician.

Dr. Geraint Griffith had a younger sister named Margaret Griffith who was born on the 13th of March, 1932.  His mother died on the 3rd of September, 1935.  Now widowed, his father married the former Karen Willadsen and they had 2 children, a daughter named Honor and a son named Michael.  Dr. Geraint Griffith attended the City of London School before enrolling in the medical program at the University of London. He obtained his medical degree in 1949, and completed an internship at the Brompton Chest Hospital in London and at the Reading General Hospital.

In 1951, Dr. Griffith began a military placement as a Captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Shortly thereafter, he volunteered for service overseas and he was stationed in the Far East for three years. He was assigned the task of canoeing through the rivers in the Malaysian jungle, recruiting additional soldiers. For his efforts, Dr. Griffith was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1954.

Following his military service, Dr. Griffith emigrated to Canada in 1955. He boarded the “Captain Cook” in Liverpool on the 24th of August, 1955 bound for Montreal.  Dr. Griffith provided his former address as 20 Collingwood Road in Witham, Essex, England.

Dr. Griffith took three years of training as a cardiology specialist at the University of New York, working out of the Buffalo General Hospital. Dr. Griffith was named a Fellow to the Royal College of Physicians in 1958. The following year, he established a medical practice in Chatham as a consulting internist. Dr. Griffith served as the Chief of Medicine at St. Joseph’s Hospital.

Dr. Griffith loved to read, especially mysteries and books about history and archeology. He also enjoyed travelling, his favourite destinations being Italy and Greece, as well as anywhere he could ‘breathe in the mountain air.’

Dr. Griffith and his wife Anne had three children: Jan, David and Peter, and six grand-children: Sarah, Rebecca, Madeline, Sam, Josiah and Mikayla.

Dr. Griffith maintained his medical practice until his death on the 13th of December, 1993.

*Dr. Griffith’s father, Dr. Idris M. Griffith also appears on the Chatham-Kent Physician Tribute website.