Geoffrey Harold Woolley, (14 May 1892 – 10 December 1968) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

infantry officer,

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

priest, and Second World War

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

. He was the first British Territorial Army officer to be awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces.

Early life and education

Woolley was the son of a clergyman, Rev. George Herbert Woolley, the

curate 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 ...

of St Matthew’s,

Upper Clapton Clapton is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. Clapton is divided into Upper Clapton, in the north, and Lower Clapton to the south. Clapton railway station lies north-east of Charing Cross. Geography and origi ...

, in London, and his wife Sarah. He had seven sisters and three brothers, including the famous archaeologist Sir

Leonard Woolley Sir Charles Leonard Woolley (17 April 1880 – 20 February 1960) was a British archaeologist best known for his Excavation (archaeology), excavations at Ur in Mesopotamia. He is recognized as one of the first "modern" archaeologists who excavat ...

and

George Cathcart Woolley George Cathcart Woolley (24 December 1876 – 6 December 1947) was a British colonial administrator in North Borneo (now Sabah) in the early part on the twentieth century. Woolley was also an ethnographer and an ardent collector, and the ...

, a colonial administrator and ethnographer. Woolley was educated at

Parmiter's School Parmiter's School is a co-educational state comprehensive school with academy status in Garston, Hertfordshire, close to the outskirts of North West London, England with a long history. Although the school admits pupils of all abilities it is ...

, Bethnal Green,

St John's School, Leatherhead Seek those things which are above , established = , closed = , type = Public SchoolIndependent school Co-educational day, weekly and flexi boarding , religious_affiliation = Church of England , p ...

and

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its pred ...

. He seemed destined to follow his father into the Church until the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when he obtained a commission in the

Queen Victoria's Rifles The 9th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Queen Victoria's Rifles) was a Territorial Army infantry battalion of the British Army. The London Regiment was formed in 1908 in order to regiment the various Volunteer Force battalions ...

, the 9th (County of London) Battalion of the London Regiment of the

First World War

The Queen Victoria's Rifles were posted to the

Ypres Salient The Ypres Salient around Ypres in Belgium was the scene of several battles and an extremely important part of the Western front during the First World War. Ypres district Ypres lies at the junction of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the Ieperlee. ...

. On 17 April 1915, the British Army captured Hill 60, a low rise to the south-east of Ypres. In the midst of fierce German efforts to retake the hill,

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

Woolley's company were sent up on the afternoon of 20 April to take ammunition supplies to the defenders. The situation quickly deteriorated, with many men and all the other officers on the hill being killed. Woolley refused verbal and written orders to withdraw, saying he and his company would remain until properly relieved. They repelled numerous attacks through the night. When they were relieved the next morning, he returned with 14 men remaining from the 150-strong company. The citation for the Victoria Cross he was awarded for this action reads: Two days later Woolley was promoted directly to the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He saw further action in the early stages of the

Second Battle of Ypres During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pr ...

until he was invalided back to England suffering from poison gas and psychological effects. When Woolley had recovered, he was appointed as an instructor at the Officers Infantry School. He returned to the Western Front in summer 1916 as a

General Staff Officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

Grade II on the Third Army Staff. After the war, Woolley was one of many officers awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

in the

King's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are prese ...

of 1919.

Later life

Geoffrey Woolley grave West Chiltington 2014

After the war Woolley resumed the study of theology at Oxford, was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

in December 1920, and took a teaching post at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

. In 1923 he resigned his commission and became

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

Monk Sherborne Monk Sherborne is a village in north Hampshire, England. Sherborne Priory is the burial place of William of Drogheada. Governance Monk Sherborne is a civil parish and is part of the Sherborne St. John ward of Basingstoke and Deane borough counc ...

, Hampshire, before moving on to the chaplaincy of

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

. In January 1940 Woolley resigned from the school and was commissioned into the Royal Army Chaplains' Department. He was appointed Senior Chaplain of the

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

area in November 1942, reaching the rank of Chaplain to the Forces 3rd Class (

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

). With several other officers he was appointed OBE in 1943 "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in North Africa." His son Rollo, a

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...

pilot, was posted to North Africa in the same month, and killed in early December 1942 in a battle over

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

. Woolley took on the parish of St Mary's, Harrow on the Hill, in 1944. In 1952, finding it difficult to climb the hill, he resigned his commission and moved to be

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

West Grinstead West Grinstead is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies just off the B2135 road four miles (6.3 km) northwest from Henfield. It is within the ancient division of the Rape of Bramber The western ...

, Sussex, where he stayed until he retired in 1958.

Publications

*''The Epic of the Mountains'' (verse), Blackwell, Oxford, 1929 *''Fear and Religion'', Ernest Benn, London, 1930 *''A Journey to Palestine'' (verse), Blackwell, Oxford, 1935 *''A pocket-book of prayers for those on active service and for those at home'', SCM Press, London, 1940 *''Sometimes a Soldier'' (autobiography), Ernest Benn, London, 1963

References

WOOLLEY, Rev. Geoffrey Harold
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014

External links

* ''

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took him over 36 ...

'' (David Harvey, 1999) * ''

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the fol ...

'' (This England, 1997) * '' VCs of the First World War: The Western Front 1915'' (Peter F. Batchelor & Christopher Matson, 1999) {{DEFAULTSORT:Woolley, Geoffrey 1892 births 1968 deaths Burials in Sussex Military personnel from London People from Bethnal Green British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Queen Victoria's Rifles officers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers 20th-century English Anglican priests British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II People educated at St John's School, Leatherhead Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross People educated at Parmiter's School, London People from West Chiltington People from West Grinstead