“WOODBINE WILLIE” DEAD

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 608, 9 March 1929, Page 9

“WOODBINE WILLIE” DEAD

FAMOUS WAR-TIME PADRE HATER OF MILITARISM (United P.A. — By Tclesjmph—Copyright) (Australian and N.Z. rrcss Association 1 fUnifed Serince) Reed. 11 a.m. LONDON. Fnda> The death has occurred of the Rev. Geoffrey Studdart Kennedy. who nicknamed in the wartime “Woodbine Willie.” A British Official Wireless message says that during the war Mr. Studdai Kenuedy acted as temporary chaplain to the forces in France, and he was given his famous nickname by the Tommies, to whom he endeared himself by his sermine sympathy and understanding, and his unfailing supply of cigarettes of the well-knotti Woodbine brand.

He gained the Military Cross in 1917, and after the war the King made him one of his honorary chaplains. As a padre, he spoke to the soldiers in France in a direct, manly way, which made an instant and enduring appeal, and the helpful advice he gave to all who asked him made him popular with all ranks of the army. His post-war sermons, delivered without the slightest fear or favour, were often slashing attacks upon modern social life. They were studded with the forceful, pungent slang of the streets and trenches. His war experiences filled him with a bitter hatred of militarism, and his sermons often had as their theme th*" need for peace. • “Woodbine Willie” was only 4* years of age. His death was due to influenza.