Who was "Woodbine Willie"?

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“Woodbine Willie”, or to give him his real name, the Reverend Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy was a British Army chaplain in the First World War.

He was one of those Christians who believed that the the church should not wait for people to come to it but should go out to the people.

And it was this belief that took him to the Western Front. There he quietly listened to the fears and worries of ordinary soldiers and shared his Woodbine cigarettes with them…gaining him the nickname: “Woodbine Willie”.

Loved by officers and men alike, he stood up to generals who didn’t like his sermons, and was awarded the Military Cross for bravery.

When he died, thousands thronged the streets of his adopted city of Worcester to say farewell.

This is the story of “Woodbine Willie”, the soldier’s chaplain.

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Rev. Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy MC - British Army Chaplain - 1883 - 1929
Born: Leeds
Died: Liverpool
Buried: Worcester (St. Jonh's Cemetery)

Memorials to Woodbine Willie in Worcester include:
Millenium Window (cloisters, Worcester Cathedral)
Statue (Cornmarket)
Studdert Kennedy House

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:41 Leeds Childhood
1:27 Ordination
2:05 Worcester
3:03 Woodbine Willie
4:20 Front Line
5:17 Theodore Hardy
5:43 Awarded Military Cross
7:39 Poetry
8:41 After the War
9:30 Death & Funeral
10:22 The History Chap

Sources used for this talk include:
History West Midlands
Worcester cathedral Archives
National Catholic Reporter
Wikipedia
National Army Museum

#woodbinewillie #geoffreystuddertkennedy #worldwar1 #ww1


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My name is Chris Green and I love to share stories from British history. Not just because they are interesting but because, good or bad, they have shaped the world we live in today.

History should not be stuffy or a long list of dates or kings & queens.
So rather than lectures or Youtube animations, I tell stories that bring the past to life.

My aim is to be chat as if I were having a coffee or meal with you. Jean in Maryland, USA recently wrote: "Chris, is the history teacher I wish I had at school!"

Just for the record, I do have a history degree in Medieval & Modern history from the University of Birmingham.

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