Maurice Arthur Ponsonby Wood, (26 August 1916 – 24 June 2007) was an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

bishop in the Evangelical tradition. He was a Royal Navy commando chaplain in World War II and later the Bishop of Norwich.

Early life and education

Wood was born into a

teetotal Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...

Evangelical family and was educated at

Monkton Combe School (Thy Word is Truth) , established = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , founder = The Revd Francis Pocock , head_label = Head Master , head ...

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

and Ridley Hall, Cambridge.

Family

Maurice Wood was married twice. He had three children, Andrew, Patrick and Charity with his first wife, Marjorie and three children, John, Jane and Daniel, with his second wife, Margaret.

Career

During World War II, Wood landed with his Royal Marine unit on the Normandy beaches on

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

. He officiated at the first service on liberated French soil, aided by the portable organ he had insisted on bringing ashore. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

. He was a very popular and distinguished chaplain of No. 48 (Royal Marines) Commando. He joined them after D-Day and landed with them by swimming ashore during their invasion of Walcheren island on 1 November. As in France after D-day, Wood organised a thanksgiving service at Walcheren. It may have been held in Zoutelande Church where Wood and a Dutch pastor chose hymns which could be sung in both Dutch and English. After the war, Wood worked in the parishes of

St Ebbe's, Oxford St Ebbe's is a Church of England parish church in central Oxford. The church is within the conservative evangelical tradition and participates in the Anglican Reform movement. It has members from many nations, many of whom are students at Oxford U ...

(1947–1952) and

St Mary's, Islington The Church of St Mary the Virgin is the historic parish church of Islington, in the Church of England Diocese of London. The present parish is a compact area centered on Upper Street between Angel and Highbury Corner, bounded to the west by Live ...

(1952–1961) both known for their strong Evangelical traditions. He then became Principal of

Oak Hill Theological College Oak Hill College is a conservative evangelical theological college located on Chase Side in Southgate, London, England. Its aim is to prepare men and women from the Church of England and Independent churches for ministry in the real world. Over ...

in Southgate, London. In 1971 he was appointed as the 69th Bishop of Norwich, serving in this post for 14 years before retiring in 1985. He espoused conventional Evangelical views – for example on women's ordination - and supported

Mary Whitehouse Constance Mary Whitehouse (; 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British teacher and conservative activist. She campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permiss ...

in her campaigns. He was innovative – for example he bought a fleet of 36 mopeds to enable his clergy to get around their parishes – and he was a media-friendly communicator. As a supporter of Evangelism, Wood helped to organise Billy Graham's UK crusades. He was also a regular speaker at the annual Keswick Convention, serving on its council for many years. He was the first Bishop of Norwich to pay a formal visit to the Church of England's Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. His contradictory nature surfaced after his consecration as a bishop when he would happily wear a golden cope and was reputed to take a case of episcopal jewelled rings to functions, but he would not wear a mitre, although he occasionally permitted a mitre to be carried on a cushion before him in processions. Diocesan clergy learned of his abstinence from alcohol when only fruit juice was offered; waggishly, his crypto-Latin title as Maurice Norvic was parodied as Maurice Britvic.

Honours and awards

* 14 November 1944 –

– ''For gallantry, skill, determination and undaunted devotion to duty during the landing of Allied Forces on the coast of Normandy'' The Reverend Maurice Arthur Ponsonby Wood, Temporary Chaplain, R.N.V.R. (Bromley).

References

Sources

EDP24 obituary, 26 June 2007

Obituary, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 27 June 2007Obituary, ''The Independent'', 28 June 2007 Obituary, ''The Times'', 28 June 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Maurice 1916 births 2007 deaths People educated at Monkton Combe School Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Bishops of Norwich Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Navy chaplains Royal Marines personnel of World War II Royal Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century Church of England bishops Evangelical Anglican bishops