Arthur Griffiths funeral

Arthur Griffiths, Veterinarian and Rotarian

Arthur Griffiths has died quietly at home after a short illness. He was 77. As a senior veterinary civil servant he contributed to the control of the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak. After retiring, and moving to St Andrews in 2006, he served the town and its citizens through his membership of several organisations, including the Community Trust and the St Andrews Rotary Club.

Arthur Griffiths’ favourite playground as a child was the railway station yard at his home village in Cheshire, where he loved to watch the loading and unloading of livestock. Holidays at his grandparents’ croft in Sutherland deepened his love and knowledge of animals as he accompanied his grandfather to the sheep sales. Next came a degree in Agriculture from Bangor and then a second degree, this time in Veterinary Medicine from the Royal Dick in Edinburgh. A lifetime of service followed, most of it here in Scotland as Divisional Veterinary Manager for Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Borders. Veterinary oversight of the Royal Highland Show and at Edinburgh Zoo were particular pleasures.  Arthur had a special interest in notifiable diseases and played a leading role in the management of the 2001 outbreak of Foot and Mouth.  In retirement he developed contingency plans on behalf of DEFRA, audited veterinary practices in Lithuania for the EU and learned about disease control in Norwegian Salmon on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Isobel Griffiths is a native Fifer, which is what brought the couple here to St Andrews, where Arthur immediately involved himself in the life of the town. He was an elder at St Leonard’s Church and  chaired the St Andrews Community Trust, whose current Chair, Margaret Lees, paid tribute to the care and attention that he brought to the role.  As for his impact on the Rotary Club of St Andrews, even Hamish Tait, who recruited him in 2011, did not foresee the huge impact he would have. “Arthur was always the first in the queue to volunteer and he held an astonishing variety of roles, including President in 2015-16 and then Stewardship Officer for the north of Scotland for Rotary Foundation. He exemplified our twin objectives: Service and Fellowship.” Foundation supports projects across the globe, two of which were especially important to Arthur because of his expertise in disease control. He lived to see the recent eradication of polio from Africa and St Andrews Rotary is determined that the Arclight project for the treatment of eye disease in Africa, currently on hold because of Covid-19, will be completed in his memory. The Paul Harris Fellowship award was conferred on Arthur for his service to Rotary in September of this year, an honour of which he was justifiably proud.

Isobel shared Arthur’s commitment to the Rotary movement and was herself a President of the St Andrews Inner Wheel. Their daughter, Frances, studied Art History at St Andrews University and is now Senior Legacy Manager for the Royal Academy of Arts.