Reginald ('Rex') Salisbury WoodsHousman Society Journal, collected vols. 23–25, 1997, p. 35 MD, FRCS, (15 October 1891
/ref> – 21 September 1986) was a British

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete, who represented Great Britain in three

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Early life

Reginald Salisbury Woods was born at Dulwich to Henry Thomas Woods and Lilian (née Salisbury), sister of the portrait painter

Frank O. Salisbury Francis Owen Salisbury (18 December 1874 – 31 August 1962) was an English artist who specialised in portraits, large canvases of historical and ceremonial events, stained glass and book illustration. In his heyday he made a fortune on both si ...

. He was educated at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

. From there he won an exhibition to

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...

, where he excelled academically and gained a first class tripos and from where he won a senior university entrance scholarship to

St George's Hospital St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals and one of the largest hospitals in Europe. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundatio ...

. After graduating in medicine in 1916, he won a research scholarship at St George's. He fulfilled a number of house appointments at St George's and eventually became a surgical registrar at the hospital. In 1918, he married Irene Charlotte, daughter of Thomas Pickering, of Tyneholme, Newcastle, and The Hill House,

Gilsland Gilsland is a village in northern England about west of Hexham, and about east of Carlisle, which straddles the border between Cumbria and Northumberland. The village provides an amenity centre for visitors touring Hadrian's Wall and other f ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

. Irene was a nurse at St George's, and served as a

controller Controller may refer to: Occupations * Controller or financial controller, or in government accounting comptroller, a senior accounting position * Controller, someone who performs agent handling in espionage * Air traffic controller, a person ...

(equivalent to a colonel) in the

Auxiliary Territorial Service The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existed until 1 Februa ...

until being invalided out in 1945; from 1954 to 1967, she organised the City of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

Women's

Royal Voluntary Service The Royal Voluntary Service (known as the Women's Voluntary Services (WVS) from 1938 to 1966; Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS) from 1966 to 2004 and WRVS from 2004 to 2013) is a voluntary organisation concerned with helping people in need ...

, and was awarded the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...

and appointed

C.B.E. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1947. They had a son and two daughters. Their son, Thomas Pickering Salisbury Woods,

M.B.E. Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

, of Manor Court, Cambridge, was a Major in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. His son, by his wife Patricia, Robert, married Hon. Lorna Suzanna Katherine, daughter of

Simon Maxwell, 13th Baron Farnham Baron Farnham, of Farnham in the County of Cavan, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1756 for John Maxwell, 1st Baron Farnham, John Maxwell, who had previously represented Cavan Borough (Parliament of Ireland constituency), C ...

Athletics

Rex Woods competed in the shot put for Cambridge vs. Oxford four times (1912–14, 1920) and was the winner on the last two occasions. His first attempt at the

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the officia ...

was in 1912 when he finished fourth. Woods first represented Britain at the shot put at the Olympic Games whilst president of the

Cambridge University Athletic Club Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge became ...

. Standing 6'0" (182 cm) and weighing 172 lbs (78 kg), Woods was not large by later standards for a shot putter. He later became honorary treasurer of the Cambridge University Athletic Club from 1919 to 1939, and was chairman from 1939 to 1952. He won the

shot put title in 1924 and 1926list of AAA champions
and represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games in 1924 and 1928. His last appearance at the AAA championships was in 1928 when he finished second. During his involvement with athletics at Cambridge he managed the Oxford/ Cambridge athletic tours of the United States from 1925 to 1949. Aside from the University of Cambridge, he was also affiliated to the Achilles Club. In other sport he came close to winning a rugby blue and he captained the public schools past and present rugby football team in 1919 and was a noted golfer even celebrating his 90th birthday by achieving a hole in one. Woods was also an excellent quarter-miler and in 1913 he beat the 1912 Olympic runner

Ernest Haley Ernest William Haley (3 January 1885 – 20 February 1975) was a British track and field athlete who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Oly ...

Military

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 ...

interrupted his medical career at St George's but he became a captain in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

and was twice

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

whilst serving in the British Expeditionary Force. He again served in the RAMC during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

at the rank of major and surgeon specialist to the East African Command.

Later life

Aside from his early years at St George's and his distinguished service in the RAMC, Rex was connected with medicine at Cambridge for 75 years. There he shared a medical practice with Edward Bevan, the Olympic rowing gold medalist. In his obituary Woods was remembered as: ''"always seemingly imperturbable, and his friendliness and concern for his patients were a byword. For those with athletic interests who were injured in the pursuit of their aims he was particularly uplifting and reassuring. He was a first class doctor with an all pervading interest in medicine and surgery, and his life was a model of integrity and kinship."'' Rex Woods died in Cambridge on 21 September 1986.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Rex 1891 births 1986 deaths English male shot putters British male shot putters Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics People educated at Dulwich College British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Medical Corps officers