[1] Griffin began his Second World War service in HMS Gloucester patrolling off Madagascar guarding against German pocket-battleships.

[1] After returning to Britain to attend courses, Griffin sailed for Cape Town aboard SS Britannia when she was sunk by the German commerce raider Thor.

Giffin's lifeboat sailed for the Cape Verde Islands, when they were rescued by SS Raranga and taken to Montevideo, Uruguay.

[1][2] With Fury, Griffin served in the Mediterranean as part of Force H and as an escort to Convoy PQ 17 to the Soviet Union.

[1] Qualifying as a navigator, he was briefly in the aircraft carrier HMS Implacable off the coast of Norway, where they launched her attacks on the Tirpitz.

[3] At one stage he was required to combine his roles of Admiral Superintendent of Plymouth dockyard with his flag officer position, doing one in the morning and another in the afternoon.

[1] From there Griffin went on to become chair of the British Maritime League from 1982 to 1987, spent 10 years as vice-chairman of Wellington College and from 1981 to 1984 was president of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects.