Griffith was born in
Montreal the son of Alexander Randall Griffith, a medical doctor and homeopathic practitioner. His medical studies at
McGill University were interrupted by World War I, where he served in the No 6. Field Ambulance and was awarded the
Military Medal for bravery at
Vimy Ridge. He received his MDCM from
McGill University in 1922, and an MD in homeopathic medicine from
Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia in 1923. He developed his interest in anaesthesia as a medical student during which time he administered many anaesthetics and developed an acute awareness of the subtleties essential for safe anaesthesia practice with the drugs and techniques available at that time. Anaesthesia became his professional career and he served as Anaesthetist-in-Chief at the Montreal Homeopathic Hospital, subsequently renamed the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, from 1923 to 1959, and remained active as an anaesthetist until 1966. He introduced the use of
ethylene (1923) and
cyclopropane (1933) into Canadian anaesthetic practice. In 1943 Dr. Griffith established the first postoperative recovery room in Canada which he believed may have been his major contribution to patient care. ==Recognition==