Eleven days into the Second World War, HMS Ark Royal picked up an SOS from the merchant ship SS Fanad Head, under attack from German submarine U30.

Due to the incorrect fuse arming in relation to the height of attack, the bomb explosions of Griff's aircraft and that of Lieutenant Thurstan RN damaged the tails of both planes, and they crashed into the sea with the loss of each air observer.

At the time of their capture, the prisoner of war camp infrastructure was only just developing; those in captivity found their conditions relatively relaxed.

Griff was also in contact with MI9 (British Military Intelligence Section 9) – his letters to the Globe & Laurel (the Royal Marines Corps' publication) contained encrypted details for MI9 of identities of personnel in the camp.

During the Korean War, he was instrumental in providing the first visual confirmation of a downed MiG 15 jet, which led to the first capture of this type by the west.