PHOTOGRAPHER Jim Griffiths won the hearts of celebrities and Royalty on their visits to Oxford.

During his career as an Oxford Mail photographer, which spanned three decades, he captured some of the most era-defining moments in the city.

Last night tributes were paid to the great-grandfather, who has died aged 78.

He joined the photographic department at Morris Motors’ car factory at Cowley when he left Temple Cowley School.

He stayed there for 14 years, working his way up from printing and filing negatives to taking pictures.

He then joined the Oxford Mail and its sister papers as a photographer.

He was promoted to deputy chief photographer, then became chief photographer, a position he held for 20 years until his retirement in 1993.

During his early days ‘on the road’, he was particularly proud of his association with Oxford United and was regularly seen perched near the posts at the Manor Ground in Headington waiting to capture those all-important United goals.

It was often a dangerous place to be. After several occasions when he had to duck and dive to avoid being hit by the ball, he jokingly asked groundsman Les Bateman to dig a trench to protect him and his fellow photographers.

Mr Griffiths was a favourite with Royalty. He took many pictures of Royal visits – Princess Anne always asked for him by name when she was in the county.

He also developed a strong relationship with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton during their visits to Oxford in the 1960s, although it didn’t start too promisingly.

During a photocall – held at Oxford Prison possibly for security reasons – Taylor swore at him while Burton praised him.

During subsequent visits, Burton always asked for him to take photographs of them.

Mr Griffiths’ five children often featured in his professional work.

His daughter, Denise Donbavand, recalls: “We used to be his models for many newspaper features. I remember doing homework by candlelight for an article on the blackouts. Even dad was a model – he was pictured with a pancake on his head for an Easter feature. He loved his work and was happy behind or in front of the camera. He lived for his family and they worshipped him.”

The strong family ties were demonstrated in 1986 when Mr Griffiths opened his front door to a group of carol singers.

There, in front of him, were three grandchildren who had flown 8,000 miles from America to give him and his wife Maureen the Christmas surprise of their lives.

They had not seen their daughter Lynne and her family for two years.

The secret operation had been planned over five months by family members in the United States and the UK.

Mark Barrington-Ward, former editor of the Oxford Mail, said: “When Jim joined the Mail, it soon became apparent that he had a good eye for what would make a picture and had the ability to get on with a variety of people.

“His calm friendliness and talent as an organiser made him a natural choice to be deputy and then chief photographer.

“He played a big part when the introduction of web-offset printing, as part of the move from New Inn Hall Street to Osney Mead, made the quality of pictures even more important. The Oxford papers owe a lot to him.”

Mail photographer Antony Moore said: "He was a great boss to work for, very encouraging. He could always see the picture within the picture.”

Mr Griffiths, who died at his home in Flexney Place, Oxford, leaves his widow, Maureen, daughters Denise, Lynne, Terry and Tracey, son Shaun, grandchildren Mat-thew, Laura, Donna, Claire, Daniel, James, Samantha, Nicola, Nathaniel and Chelsey and great grandchild Alex.

The funeral service will be held at Oxford Crematorium on Wednesday at 3pm.

  • See more of his work in Wednesday’s Oxford Mail