Maurice Arthur Ponsonby Wood, (26 August 1916 – 24 June 2007) was an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

in the

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

tradition. He was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

commando chaplain in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and later the

Bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary (Catholic Church), ordinary of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Norwich, Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. Th ...

Early life and education

Wood was born into a teetotal Evangelical family and was educated at Monkton Combe School,

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

and Ridley Hall, Cambridge.

Family

Maurice Wood was married twice. He had three children, Andrew, Patrick and Charity with his first wife, Marjorie and three children, John, Jane and Daniel, with his second wife, Margaret.

Career

During World War II, Wood landed with his

Royal Marine The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

unit on the

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

beaches on

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

. He officiated at the first service on liberated French soil, aided by the portable organ he had insisted on bringing ashore. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He was a very popular and distinguished chaplain of No. 48 (Royal Marines) Commando. He joined them after D-Day and landed with them by swimming ashore during their invasion of Walcheren island on 1 November. As in France after D-day, Wood organised a thanksgiving service at Walcheren. It may have been held in Zoutelande Church where Wood and a Dutch pastor chose hymns which could be sung in both Dutch and English. After the war, Wood worked in the parishes of St Ebbe's, Oxford (1947–1952) and St Mary's, Islington (1952–1961) both known for their strong Evangelical traditions. He then became Principal of Oak Hill Theological College in Southgate, London. In 1971 he was appointed as the 69th

, serving in this post for 14 years before retiring in 1985. He espoused conventional Evangelical views – for example on women's ordination - and supported

Mary Whitehouse Constance Mary Whitehouse (; 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British teacher and conservative activist. She campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permis ...

in her campaigns. He was innovative – for example he bought a fleet of 36

moped A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. Historically, the term exclusively meant a similar vehicle with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle eng ...

s to enable his clergy to get around their parishes – and he was a media-friendly communicator. As a supporter of Evangelism, Wood helped to organise

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (; November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American Evangelism, evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister, and Civil rights movement, civil rights advocate, whose broadcasts and world tours featuring liv ...

's UK crusades. He was also a regular speaker at the annual

Keswick Convention The Keswick Convention is an annual gathering of Conservative evangelicalism in the United Kingdom, conservative evangelical Christians in Keswick, Cumbria, Keswick, in the English county of Cumbria. The Christian theological tradition of High ...

, serving on its council for many years. He was the first Bishop of Norwich to pay a formal visit to the Church of England's Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. His contradictory nature surfaced after his consecration as a bishop when he would happily wear a golden cope and was reputed to take a case of episcopal jewelled rings to functions, but he would not wear a mitre, although he occasionally permitted a mitre to be carried on a cushion before him in processions. Diocesan clergy learned of his abstinence from alcohol when only fruit juice was offered; waggishly, his crypto-Latin title as Maurice Norvic was parodied as Maurice

Britvic Britvic was a British producer of soft drinks based in Hemel Hempstead, England. It produced soft drinks under its own name, as well as several other brands. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Carlsberg Group an ...

Honours and awards

* 14 November 1944 – Distinguished Service Cross – ''For gallantry, skill, determination and undaunted devotion to duty during the landing of Allied Forces on the coast of Normandy'' The Reverend Maurice Arthur Ponsonby Wood, Temporary Chaplain, R.N.V.R. (Bromley).

References

Sources

EDP24 obituary, 26 June 2007

Obituary, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 27 June 2007

Obituary, ''The Independent'', 28 June 2007

Obituary, ''The Times'', 28 June 2007

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Maurice 1916 births 2007 deaths 20th-century Church of England bishops 20th-century evangelicals 21st-century Anglicans 21st-century evangelicals Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Bishops of Norwich English evangelicals Evangelical Anglican bishops People educated at Monkton Combe School Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Marines personnel of World War II Royal Navy chaplains Royal Navy personnel of World War II