The Rt Rev Claude Thomas Thelluson Wood (27 February 1885 – 17 January 1961) was an eminent

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in the mid part of the twentieth century. He was born on 27 February 1885 and educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

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

. After a

curacy A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at Hatfield he spent ten years in the Army Chaplains' Department to the Territorial Army. He was in France from 1915 where he was awarded the Military Cross 'for service in the Field' and was Mentioned in Despatches. His service was summarised in 1918 as 'good report'. He served as vicar at

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

and

Tring Tring is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in a gap passing through the Chiltern Hills, classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from Central London. Tring is linked to ...

and was then successively

Rural Dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective. ...

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town ...

Archdeacon of St Albans The Archdeacon of St Albans is an ecclesiastical post in the Church of England Diocese of St Albans in the Province of Canterbury. The post has been held by Jane Mainwaring since March 2020. History Before the Dissolution of the Monasteries and ...

and then

Bishop of Bedford The Bishop of Bedford is an episcopal title used by a Church of England suffragan bishop who, under the direction of the Diocesan Bishop of St Albans, oversees 150 parishes in Luton and Bedfordshire. The title, which takes its name after the tow ...

. Wood was recommended for the post in 1948 by the Bishop of St Albans who, in his letter to the Prime Minister, referred to Wood's service in the Great War. Clement Attlee, like Winston Churchill, preferred men who had shown their mettle in the Great War. Wood remained in post for only 5 years because of a car crash in which he damaged his pelvis. He died on 17 January 1961.'His was one of the most unspectacular of careers of service which are the greatest strength of the Church', wrote the Church Times obituarist.Church Times,20.1.1962

Notes

1885 births People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Recipients of the Military Cross Bishops of Bedford Archdeacons of Bedford Archdeacons of St Albans 20th-century Church of England bishops 1961 deaths Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers British Army personnel of World War I World War I chaplains {{ChurchofEngland-bishop-stub