Lloyd-Jones on Driscollian Pastoral Deportment
Lloyd-Jones on Driscollian Pastoral Deportment At the end of the First World War there was in England a famous clergyman who was known as 'Woodbine Willie'. Why was he called 'Woodbine Willie'? The explanation is that he had been a chaplain in the army and had been a very great success in that capacity. His success he attributed to the fact - and many agreed with him in this - that he mixed with the men in the trenches in a familiar manner. He smoked with them, and in particular he smoked their cheap brand of cigarette known as 'Wild Woodbine' commonly called 'Woodbines'. In pre-1914 days you could buy five such cigarettes for a penny. Now this cheap type of cigarette was not the brand of cigarette that an officer generally smoked, but the ordinary soldier did. So this man, whose name was Studdert-Kennedy, in order to put the men at ease, and in order to facilitate his work as chaplain smoked 'Woodbines', hence the name 'Woodbine Willie