WOODBINE WILLIE

Evening Star, Issue 20135, 27 March 1929, Page 8

WOODBINE WILLIE

RAISING FUND FDR FAMILY Press Association —By Telegraph- Copyright. LONDON, Alarch 26. (Received March 'h , at 1 a.in.) The ox-lTimate. the Archbishop- of York, and the Bishop ot arc heading a movement io raise 27.0HU to provide for the widow and three sons of "Woodbine Millie.’ who arc. loft inadequately provided for. "’Woodbine Willie ” earned big sums through his writings, but. practically all of these were immediately earmarked tor charities, .so that ail he left was liio insurance policies tor £'6JHKl.—Australian Press Association. [During the war (he Rev. Geoffrey Sinddert Kennedy acted as temporary chaplain to the forces in France, and ho was given his famous nickname by the Tommies, to whom ho endeared himself by his genuine sympathy and understanding, and his unfailing supply of cigarettes of the well-known Woodbine brand. He gained the Military Cross in PJI 7. and alter the war, the' King made him one of his honorary chaplains. As a padre lie spoke to flic soldiers in Franco in a direct, maulv way, which made an instant and enduring appeal, and the helpful advice ho gave to all who asked him, made him popular with all ranks ol the army. His post-war sermons, delivered without the slightest tear or favour, were often slashing attacks on modern social life. ’They were studded with the forceful, pungent slang of the streets and trenches. His war experiences filled him witty a hitter hatred of militarism, and his sermons often had as their theme the need lor pence. "■Woodbine ’Willie” was only fortysix years of age at the time of his death on Alarch 7.]