Anthony David Griffiths

Anthony David Griffiths (“Tony”) was born on 5 March 1937 in Merthyr Tydfil. Tony’s mother, Eira (née Lewis), was a haberdasher and needlewoman, and his father, Trefor, and grandfather were respected lawyers in the town. He was brought up in Cefn Coed y Cwmmer, with the rivers Tâf Fechan to the east and Tâf Fawr to the west, leading Tony to observe that he was “raised in the arms of the Tâf, and you can’t get more Welsh than that!”

He knew from an early age he was destined to a career in science, and by 14 he knew he wanted to be a children’s doctor, from which ambition he never faltered.

Tony was a bright student, sitting A levels a year early and winning both state and Isaac Roberts open scholarships to study at the Welsh National School of Medicine. He gained distinctions in nearly all the medical sciences, …