Optometry Wales is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of retired optometrist Creighton “Ben” Lewis OBE, a towering figure in Welsh and UK optometry.
Creighton built a distinguished clinical career after qualifying in Cardiff. Guided by a strong sense of professional integrity, he went on to develop and expand a group of practices across South Wales, his practices became renowned training grounds. Nationally, he played a prominent role within the Association of Optometrists (AOP), becoming its first two-time Chairman and championing an expanded role for optometry in community healthcare. In Wales, he was one of the first Optometric Advisers, supporting the rollout of Making Accurate Claims, and a key facilitator in bringing together Welsh Local Optical Committees—efforts that helped lay the foundations for the modern Welsh General Ophthalmic Service.
In recognition of his exceptional service to the profession, he was awarded an OBE—an honour of which he was immensely proud. Creighton Lewis’s enduring legacy lies in the strength of the profession he helped shape, the services he helped modernise, and the many practitioners he inspired. We have walked through the doors he opened with his confidence in what the Profession could achieve, but also with the humility that he himself demonstrated.
To his family, we pass our sympathies but are strong in the knowledge that without him in our lives we would all have been impoverished.
This tribute was written by Ian Jones, a close colleague and friend of Creighton “Ben” Lewis