Edward James Griffiths (1891-1980) was an Australian fire fighter, veteran of the

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

campaign and a three-time premiership-winning

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

player with the Eastern Suburbs club.

Career and war service

Born in

Pyrmont, New South Wales Pyrmont () is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 2 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the City of Sydney. It is al ...

in 1891, Eddie Griffiths joined the

fire service A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organi ...

as a Brigades Cadet Corp at just sixteen years of age and his exploits since that time are legendary. Current station commander of the 'D' Platoon in the

NSW New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a state on the east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. T ...

Fire Brigade A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and ...

recalls Griffiths as a tough fearless man who always led by example, describing him as ''"Our greatest fire fighter"''......''”A legend in the true sense of the word"''. In 1948 Griffiths was given the highest honour of any fire fighter when he was promoted to Chief Officer of the

s. A veteran of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Griffiths, a member of an Australian artillery unit, served in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and

Rugby league career

Eddie Griffiths played 4 seasons with Easts and was a member of the Eastern Suburbs

sides that won premierships in 1911, 1912 & 1913, retaining permanent ownership of the

New South Wales Rugby League The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in rugby league in New South Wales, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Co ...

's first trophy, the Royal Agricultural Society Shield. He played 37 first grade games with Easts between 1909 and 1912. He then joined the

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) is an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as the club is commonly ...

.Alan Whiticker/Glen Hudson: Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players- 1995 ()

Accolades

Death

Eddie Griffiths died at a nursing home at Manly on 1 November 1980, age 89. He was cremated at Northern Suburbs Crematorium on 4 Nov 1980.

References

* History of the NSW Rugby League Finals (Steve Hadden) * Eastern Suburbs Website 1891 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Australian sportsmen Australian firefighters Australian military personnel of World War I Australian rugby league players Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league second-rows Sydney Roosters players Western Suburbs Magpies players {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1890s-stub