Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

(HMAS) HOBART HISTORY  - Commanding Officers (DDG39)

This Edition’s features the Biography of our first Commanding Officer

Rear Admiral Guy R. Griffiths AO DSO DSC RAN (RETD)

Rear Admiral Guy Griffiths was born in Sydney, 1 March 1923, and spent his early years

in the old Rothbury/Pokolbin district in the Hunter River Valley, NSW.  He entered the

Royal Australian Naval College as a cadet midshipman in January 1937, aged 13. He was made Chief Cadet Captain in 1939, was posted to the Royal Navy and joined the battle cruiser HMS REPULSE in March 1941.

In December 1941 HMS Repulse was sunk off the east coast of Malaya, and after rescue, ‘Midshipman’ Griffiths was posted to the battleship HMS REVENGE. In January 1943 he served in the destroyer HMS VIVIAN, then he joined the RAN cruiser HMAS SHROPSHIRE on commissioning in May 1943.  The next two years saw action in the South West Pacific, including the LEYTE and LINGAYAN Gulf operations in the Philippines and the battle of SURIGAO STRAIT.  He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross after the Lingayan Gulf operation.

After the war, he completed the Specialist Course in Gunnery at HMS EXCELLENT, Portsmouth, England and after two years exchange service, returned to Australia.  From 1950-52 he served as Gunnery Officer in the Aircraft Carrier HMAS SYDNEY and saw action in the Korean War.  At the end of 1952 he returned to the Korean theatre and saw further action in the destroyer HMAS ANZAC.

In 1954, after undergoing the Royal Naval Staff Course, he served in the aircraft carrier HMAS MELBOURNE on commissioning in October 1955 to the end of 1956 when, on promotion to Commander, he was posted as Fleet Operations Officer until August 1958.

In July 1961, after two years ashore in Navy Office, Canberra, he was posted in command of HMAS PARRAMATTA on commissioning, which was the first of the new River Class Destroyer Escorts in the RAN.  This was followed by duty as the Director of Tactics and Weapons Policy at Navy Office, Canberra.

In 1964 he was promoted to Captain and in December 1965 he took command of HMAS HOBART, the second of the guided missile destroyers on its first commission.  The ship saw action in Vietnam in 1967 and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.

From late 1967 he served in Malaysia as Naval Adviser to the Chief of Naval Staff, Royal Malaysian Navy and in 1970 attended the Imperial Defence College, London.

In 1971 he was posted as Director-General Operations and Plans at Navy Office, Canberra and was promoted to Commodore in the same year.  From late 1973 to mid 1975 he commanded the aircraft carrier HMAS MELBOURNE, Flagship of the Australian Fleet and in addition to normal operations participated in “Operation Navy Help Darwin” after Cyclone Tracy in 1975. 

On 30 June 1976 he was promoted to Rear Admiral and appointed Chief of Naval Personnel on that date.  He took up the position of Flag Officer Naval Support Command on 12 January 1979 and was awarded the AO in that year.  He retired from the Navy in January 1980 after 43 years’ service.

Rear Admiral Griffiths is married with one son and one daughter and his interests include golf, skiing, reading and family history research.

Continuing to be active he was Personnel Director of Wormald International until 1983 and the acted as a Defence consultant for three years.  In 1987 he took up the position of Chief Executive Officer for the North Shore Heart Research Foundation and finally retired from fundraising in 1995.

He held the position of:

·         National President (1980 – 2004) of the Australian Veterans and Defence Services Council Incorporated, which represents over forty ex-servicemen and woman’s organisations on repatriation matters.

·         A Director of the Australian Vietnam War Veterans Trust (1985 – 2003).

·         He is currently patron of a number of ex-naval associations including the UK based HMS Prince of Wales HMS Repulse Survivors Association and a life member of The Naval Historical Society of Australia.

·         Current Patron of the HMAS Canberra & HMAS Shropshire Association – R/Admiral Griffiths served as a young gunnery officer on HMAS Shropshire in the SW Pacific theatre - post his sinking and rescue off HMS Repulse in 1942. He was Commissioning Crew of HMAS Shropshire in 1943 (20th April 43)