Woodbine Willie

Probably because Woodbine is the name of our county seat, the name Woodbine Wille recently caught my attention. His real name was Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy (1883-1929) and in 1917, the Anglican priest won the Military Cross for running into No-Mans-Land to provide comfort to those injured during an attack at Messines Ridge. Once out in no-mans-land he offered comfort to the injured, English and German alike under threat of fire.

Kennedy became known as Woodbine Willie as he distributed Woodbine brand cigarettes to soldiers when he visited them in the trenches. Beloved by the soldiers he served, Woodbine Willie wrote this advice to military chaplains:

Live with the men.
Go everywhere they go...
The more Padres die doing Christ-like deeds,
the better for the Church...
Take a box of fags in your haversack
and a great deal of love in your heart...
You can pray with them sometimes,
but pray for them always.
Arthur Savage, an English soldier in the war, later told his memories of the Rev. Studdert Kennedy.

A man I recall with great affection was Woodbine Willie. His proper name was Reverend Studdert Kennedy, an army chaplin he was and he'd come down into the trenches and say prayers with the men, have a cuppa out of a dirty tin mug and tell a joke as good as any of us. He was a chain smoker and always carried a packet of Woodbine cigarettes that he would give out in handfuls to us lads. That's how he got his nickname. At Mesines Ridge he ran out into no man's land under murderous machine-gun fire to tend the wounded and dying. Every man was carrying a gun except him. He carried a wooden cross. He gave comfort to dying Germans as well. He was awarded the Military Cross and he deserved it.

He came down the trench one day to cheer us up. Had his bible with him as usual. Well, I'd been there for weeks, unable to write home, of course, we were going over the top later that day. I asked him if he would write to my sweetheart at home, tell her I was still alive and, so far, in one piece. He said he would, so I gave him the address. Well, years later, after the war, she showed me the letter he'd sent, very nice it was. A lovely letter. My wife kept it until she died.

He worked in the slums of London after the war among the homeless and the unemployed. The name Woodbine Willie was known to everyone in the land in those days. Died very young, he did, and at his funeral people placed packets of Woodbine cigarettes on his coffin and his grave as a mark of respect and love.

At www.kingofpeace.org you'll find our web pages with a prayer vigil for soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines serving in the Middle East.