Robert Wilmer Woods, (14 February 1914 – 20 October 1997), known as Robin Woods, was an English

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. He was the

Bishop of Worcester The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary (officer), head of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Worcester, Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title can be traced back to the foundation of the diocese in the ...

from 1971 to 1982. He previously served as Archdeacon of Sheffield from 1958 to 1962, and as Dean of Windsor from 1962 to 1970.

Early life and education

Woods was the youngest son of the Right Reverend Edward Sydney Woods (1877–1953), Bishop of Lichfield, and Clemence Barclay. He was the brother of the photographer Janet Woods, Samuel Woods, an archdeacon in New Zealand, and Frank Woods, Archbishop of Melbourne, and a nephew of Theodore Woods, who had served as

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

. He was educated at The New Beacon, Gresham's School, Holt, and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

Career

Ordained ministry

Woods was ordained a deacon of the Church of England in 1938 and a priest in 1939. He was Assistant Secretary of the Student Christian Movement between 1937 and 1942. His first clerical position was as curate at St Edmund the King, Lombard Street, London 1938–1939, and at Hoddesdon 1939–1942.

Military service

Woods served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during

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 ...

from 1942 to 1946. On 26 September 1942, he was commissioned into the

Royal Army Chaplains' Department The Royal Army Chaplains' Department (RAChD) is an all-officer department that provides ordained clergy to minister to the British Army. History The Army Chaplains' Department (AChD) was formed by Royal Warrant of 23 September 1796; until the ...

as a Chaplain to the Forces 4th Class (equivalent to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

). In November 1945, he was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

"in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Italy".

Post-war

After the war, he was given his first benefice as Vicar of

South Wigston South Wigston is a large village to the south of Leicester, England. It is outside the city boundary, forming part of the Oadby and Wigston district of Leicestershire. The population at the 2011 census was 7,490. Geography and administration So ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, in 1946, then in 1951 went to

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

as Archdeacon of Singapore and Vicar of St Andrew's Cathedral. In 1958 he returned to England to become Archdeacon of Sheffield and Rector of Tankersley. In 1962, he was appointed Dean of Windsor and Domestic Chaplain to

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

and played an influential part in the education of

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...

. It was his recommendation to send Charles to

, his own old college. While at Windsor, he also served as Registrar of the

Most Noble Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, it is outranked in precedence only by the decorations of the Victoria Cr ...

. In 1970, he became

and was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

, an honour in the personal gift of the sovereign. He retired effective 31 October 1981. Other positions Woods held include: * Prelate of the Order of St Michael and St George *Secretary of the Anglican-Methodist Commission for Unity, 1965–1974 *Member of Council of the

Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, which has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and ...

, from 1968 *Member of the Public Schools Commission, 1968–1970 *Governor of

Haileybury and Imperial Service College Haileybury is a co-educational public school (fee-charging boarding and day school for 11- to 18-year-olds) located in Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire. It is a member of the Rugby Group and enrols pupils at the 11+, 13+ and 16+ stages of edu ...

Visitor A visitor, in English and Welsh law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous ecclesiastical or eleemosynary institution, often a charitable institution set up for the perpetual distribution of the founder's alms and bounty, who can interve ...

Malvern College Malvern College is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging coeducational boarding school, boarding and day school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school ...

, 1970–1981 *President and Chairman of Council of

Queen's College, Birmingham Queen's College was a medical school in central Birmingham, England, and a predecessor college of the University of Birmingham. It was founded by surgeon William Sands Cox in 1825 as The Birmingham Medical School, a residential college for med ...

, 1970–1985 *Chairman of the Windsor Festival Company, 1969–1971 *Chairman of the Churches Television Centre, 1969–79 *Director of

Christian Aid Christian Aid is a relief and development charity of 41 Christian (Protestant and Orthodox) churches in Great Britain and Ireland, and works to support sustainable development, eradicate poverty, support civil society and provide disaster rel ...

, 1969

Later life and death

Worcester Cathedral UK 16052015 Bishop Robin Woods

His ashes are buried in the cloisters of

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and Blessed Mary the Virgin, is a Church of England cathedral in Worcester, England, Worcester, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Worcester and is the Mother Church# ...

. According to his obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', Woods was the most successful Dean of Windsor in the twentieth century.

Honours

*Knight Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

, 1971 *Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

, 1989 *A judge of the

Templeton Prize The Templeton Prize is an annual award granted to a living person, in the estimation of the judges, "whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton's philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest ques ...

Family

Woods married Henrietta ("Etta") Marion Wilson, in 1942, and they had two sons and three daughters. His widow died on 8 February 2005, at the age of 88. Through this marriage Woods became one of the wealthiest clergymen in the Church of England.

In television

Woods was portrayed by

Tim McMullan Timothy W. V. McMullan (born 1963) is a British actor, notable for his stage, television and film work. He is best known for playing Atticus Pünd in the BBC mystery dramas ''Magpie Murders'' and ''Moonflower Murders (TV series), Moonflower Murd ...

in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''The Crown'', although his appointment as Dean of Windsor appears to be set around the time of the first Moon landing in 1969.

Publications

*''Lord of All, Hear Our Prayer'' (ed.) *''Robin Woods: an autobiography'' (1986)

References

Sources

*''Who's Who 1993'' (A. & C. Black, London, 1993) p.2063 *''Robin Woods: an autobiography'' (SCM Press, 1986) *

Telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

wills {{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Robin 1914 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Church of England bishops Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Archdeacons of Sheffield Archdeacons of Singapore Bishops of Worcester Burials at Worcester Cathedral Deans of Windsor Honorary chaplains to the King Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers People educated at Gresham's School