Page 151 - WHO'S WHO OF DUDLEY ROTARY

507 George Howard WIDDOWSON (1940- ) (Inducted 2.7.1984; left
30.9.1987.) Finance, Commercial Banking. The Manager of Barclays Bank,
High Street, Dudley from 1983 in succession to Eric Davies (club member
#464). He was born and raised in the Hull area and started work with
Barclays in Hull in 1960. He transferred to Wolverhampton in the mid
1960s and lived at Sedgley. He moved home to Dorridge, Solihull in about
1969 and remained there for 45 years, even when managing distant
branches, although from 1975 he was manager of The Parade and
Birmingham Road branches in Solihull. He finished his career in Liverpool,
rising to City director of Barclays Bank, finally retiring in July 1995. He did national service with
the Royal Engineers but stayed on in the Territorials and as Captain Widdowson was awarded
the Territorial Decoration. He was following in the footsteps of his father who was a Colonel in
the Royal Engineers. Howard’s three sons were educated at Solihull School so, in the 1980s and
’90s, he served as a parent member of the Old Silhillians Association and also as Group Scout
Leader of the school cubs, scouts and venture scouts. He now lives at Chadwick End, between
Solihull and Warwick.

508 Major William (‘Bill’) Manning BERRIDGE, JP BEM (1929-1998) (Inducted 7.1.1985; left in
1989/90.) Zoological Exhibitions. Executive in charge of fund raising for
Dudley Zoo Development Trust, probably from 1980, and based at the
Zoo’s offices in The Broadway. His home was in the historic conservation
area of Mushroom Green, Dudley Wood. Soon after arriving in Dudley he
was appointed a Dudley magistrate and rapidly became a bench chairman.
(He was prone to interrupting proceedings as though he was chairman
even when sitting as a ‘winger’!) He grew up near Lutterworth,
Leicestershire, son of a farmer. On leaving school at 18 he joined the Army
and served with the Royal Army Veterinary Corps for 32 years until retiring
in August 1979. The RAVC was responsible for the provision, training and care of animals,
principally dogs used to search for explosives and enemy troops. As a Staff Serjeant with the
Corps, aged just 29, he was awarded the British Empire Medal, Military Division, in the 1958
Birthday Honours. This may well have been for action in Malaya during the campaign against
Communist guerrillas. He was granted a commission in 1961, as a quartermaster, and rose
through the ranks to become Major in 1972. During this period he was involved with the British
Jungle Warfare School in Malaya. Although based at the Defence Animal Centre at Melton
Mowbray, Leicestershire, he evidently had tours of duty away. He was ‘mentioned in
despatches’ in recognition of distinguished service in Northern Ireland during 1978, which
apparently included operations in the Maze prison at a time when over 300 Republican prisoners
were staging a mass ‘dirty’ protest. He retired to Herne Bay, NE Kent, the district where his wife
was living when they married.

509 Graham William GRIFFITHS (1946- ) (Inducted 7.1.1985; left in 1988/89.)
General Law Practice. Solicitor and partner in the practice William Wright
& Son, St James Road, Dudley. He joined his father Owen Griffiths, who
was senior partner, in about 1981 having previously worked in local
government. In 1987 he moved to John R Caswell & Co in Kingswinford.
However his legal career came to an end at the beginning of 1990 when
he pleaded guilty at Dudley Crown Court to misusing clients’ accounts and
obtaining a holiday by deception during a period when he was suffering
from a serious depressive illness. He was jailed for six months. He
bounced back and acted as company secretary to at least two local firms but in 1995 was made
bankrupt. He settled his debts in 2003. He remained in the area and became involved in local
community activities as Chairman of the Friends of Dudley Castle from 2010, a director of White