Footsteps of the fallen

Woodbine Willie - the puffing Padre


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In this episode we hear the remarkable stories of two exceptional men, neither of whom fired a shot in anger during the Great War, but through selflessness, humility and bravery have entered into history.

We meet the Reverend Geoffrey Studdart Kennedy, better known by his nickname of Woodbine Willie, a man whose sermons were so legendary he was forced to hold up to 10 services on a Sunday, so many soldiers wanted to hear him preach.  As famous for his spicy language, as his burlap sacks of Bibles and cigarettes, Kennedy was also a prolific poet and author  Universally popular with the men, less so with the top brass, when he died over 30,000 people attended his funeral.

We also hear the story of the most highly decorated non-combatant of the War, the diminutive Reverend Theodore Hardy, whose bravery and humanity saw him awarded a Military Cross, a Distinguished Service Order, and finally a Victoria Cross for bravery.  Punctuating his arrival in the trenches with a cheerful shout of "Don't shoot boys! It's only the Padre!" he became a firm favourite with the men.

We look at the history of the Army Chaplains Corps from the Crusades to the Crimea and discover that if you've been shot in No Mans Land, you'd better hope that the Bishop of London doesn't come out to try and find you. 

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Footsteps of the fallenBy Matt Dixon

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