Running

RUNNING INTO

NO MAN’S LAND The wisdom of

Woodbine Willie

JONATHAN BRANT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS With grateful thanks to: Lynette, for giving me the opportunity to write about a man whose life and work have inspired me over many years; Lauren, Ben and all the team at CWR, for excellence throughout; the Studdert Kennedy family, for permission to quote extensively from Woodbine Willie’s writings; Ed, Luke, Rich, Samuel and Stuart for your erudite comments on the more theological/philosophical parts of the manuscript; the Council of the Oxford Pastorate, for allowing me time to work on this project; and, above all, my wonderful family, who ceaselessly inspire, support and encourage.

Copyright © Jonathan Brant 2014 Published 2014 by CWR, Waverley Abbey House, Waverley Lane, Farnham, Surrey GU9 8EP, UK. Registered Charity No. 294387. Registered Limited Company No. 1990308.

The right of Jonathan Brant to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, sections 77 and 78.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of CWR. For a list of National Distributors visit www.cwr.org.uk/distributors Unless otherwise indicated all Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version, (Anglicised edition), copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica (formerly International Bible society).

Other Scripture quotations are marked: ESV: The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Concept development, editing, design and production by CWR. Printed in the UK by Page Brothers.

ISBN: 978-1-78259-265-5 Every effort has been made to ensure that this book contains the correct permissions and references, but if anything has been inadvertently overlooked the Publisher will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.

Please contact the Publisher directly.

Runningintonomansland_text.indd 2

13/06/2014 16:25

CONTENTS: Introduction: Running into No Man’s Land

5

PART 1: Introducing Woodbine Willie 9 1. Why Woodbine Willie?

10 2. The Life of Woodbine Willie 20 3. The Thought of Woodbine Willie 34 4. The Wisdom of Woodbine Willie: Finding the meaning of life in a journey of Wonder, Vision and Venture 48 PART 2: WONDER – Attending to Human Experience 5. What is the Nature of Nature?

6. What is the Purpose of Pleasure?

57 58 68

PART 3: VISION – Seeing the Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ 7. What is God Looking For? 8. What if I’m Not Good Enough?

9. What is the World All About?

77 78 88 97

PART 4: VENTURE – Transforming the World 10. What is the Church Doing Here?

11. What is the Power of Prayer?

12. What Can We Do About Suffering?

13. What Should I Do With My Money?

14. What is the Secret of Good Sex and Love?

15. What is the Point of Work?

109 110 120 130 139 149 159

Conclusion 168 Bibliography 171 Endnotes 172

Runningintonomansland_text.indd 3

13/06/2014 16:25

Runningintonomansland_text.indd 4

13/06/2014 16:25

INTRODUCTION

RUNNING INTO NO MAN’S LAND It was a common enough scene in those days, an advanced collecting post for wounded in the Ypres Salient, on the evening of June 15th, 1917. Twenty men all smashed up and crammed together in a little concrete shelter which would have been full with ten in it. Outside the German barrage banging down all round us. The one guttering candle on the edge of a broken wire-bed going out every five minutes when a salvo of 5.9’s from Pilkom Ridge shook the place to its foundations. A boy with a badly shattered thigh in a corner moaning and yelling by turns for “Somefing to stop the pain.” So it had been for an hour or more. Between this Black Hole of Calcutta and Battalion H.Q. Death and Hell to go through. Hell inside and hell out, 5

RUNNING INTO NO MAN’S LAND

and the moaning of the boy in the corner like the moaning of a damned soul ...

There was no morphia. That was the horror. Some one must go for it. I went.1

The man who ‘went’ – running into no man’s land, sheltering in shell holes, then running again – was Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy, better known as ‘Woodbine Willie’. He was not a soldier but a chaplain whose unusual bravery won him the Military Cross. An official announcement explained: ‘He showed the greatest courage and disregard for his own safety in attending to the wounded under heavy fire. He searched shell holes for our own, and enemy wounded, assisting them to the Dressing Station, and his cheerfulness and endurance had a splendid effect upon all the ranks in the front line trenches, which he constantly visited.’2 Woodbine Willie was also spiritually courageous. After the war he continued with a life dedicated to serving the suffering.

Working as a travelling evangelist, he shivered and wheezed on freezing street corners, preaching hope into the hearts of labourers in dole queues. As a pastor in impoverished parishes, he railed against injustice and wept with couples whose marriages had descended into bitter cycles of betrayal and recrimination.

And, ceaselessly, he wrestled with God, exploring fresh answers to life’s toughest questions in his preaching and writing.

In the pages that follow, I would like to introduce you to some of the wisdom of Woodbine Willie as I have encountered it in his prose and his poetry. I believe that his wisdom, forged in the heat of battle and in loving service of the suffering, has power to speak into our lives, particularly where we struggle with doubt, confusion and disappointment.

Woodbine Willie wrought wisdom for every day of the week, not just for Sundays, and wisdom for all of life, not just the good times.

6

Runningintonomansland_text.indd 6

13/06/2014 16:25

INTRODUCTION

HOW TO READ THIS BOOK This book is an introduction to Woodbine Willie’s life and thought. It is not a systematic theology (for which, you are probably grateful), nor is it a comprehensive account of Christian life; rather it reflects Woodbine Willie’s preoccupations and interests as it addresses a number of important aspects of the journey of faith.

There will not be time or space to address any issue in its fullness, but I hope this book will provide you with an opportunity to consider the Christian life from a fresh perspective, the perspective of this singular and fascinating figure, Woodbine Willie, and in the light of Scripture, to reflect and apply something of his wisdom to your walk with God. Part 1 offers a first opportunity to get to know Woodbine Willie. A general introduction is followed by sketches of his life, his thought and his understanding of the shape of the Christian life. Parts 2–4 explore the wisdom of Woodbine Willie in greater detail, considering what he can teach us about living for God today. Each chapter in these parts will have the same format: 1. Introduction: To set the scene and present the topic to be considered 2. Woodbine Willie in his own words: An extended quotation from one of Woodbine Willie’s many published writings 3. Discussion: Drawing out and highlighting the key argument or intent of the text 4. Reflection: Scripture readings, questions and prayers to help us reflect on Woodbine Willie’s wisdom Throughout this book, I will try to act as your guide. I believe a guide is necessary because Woodbine Willie lived his Christian life in a tradition that is perhaps unfamiliar to many of us.

He was a committed High Church, sacramental Anglican.

His discipleship was focused on the offices of morning and 7

Runningintonomansland_text.indd 7

13/06/2014 16:25

RUNNING INTO NO MAN’S LAND

evening prayer and, especially, on the sacrament of communion Furthermore, he considered himself a ‘modernist’ in his theology. He took for granted the findings of modern science and modern philosophy, including the historical critical method of reading the Bible, which more conservative Christians took to In addition, time has not stood still. History has moved on and the third millennium world we live in is very different to the world Woodbine Willie inhabited. Many of his references and many of the events he describes will be alien to us. He never used inclusive language and his persistent reference to ‘men’ and ‘sons’ might understandably alienate some contemporary readers.

Sometimes we will need to think our way back into the shoes of those he originally wrote for, in order to understand the weight Ultimately, I’m a fan of Woodbine Willie and thank God for all he has to teach us, but there are places where I think we can best learn from him by disagreeing. After all, he was not afraid to change his mind when experience or study convinced him his earlier positions (eg his initial support of the war) were wrong.

However, I hope at all times to be respectful of this remarkable servant of God, recognising that no-one this side of heaven has the whole truth, least of all me.

8

13/06/2014 16:25

Part 1

INTRODUCING WOODBINE WILLIE

Runningintonomansland_text.indd 9

CHAPTER 1

WHY WOODBINE WILLIE?

10

WHY WOODBINE WILLIE?

WELL? Our Padre were a solemn bloke, We called ‘im dismal Jim. It fairly gave ye t’ bloomin’ creeps, To sit and ‘ark at ‘im, When ‘e were on wi’ Judgement Day, Abaht that great white throne, And ‘ow each chap would ‘ave to stand, And answer on ‘is own.

I didn’t know it at the time but I was hearing a ‘dialect poem’ written by Woodbine Willie. In these poems he tried to translate Christian doctrine into the language and the life experience of the working-class soldiers he served and loved.

This poem, which explores ideas of sin, judgment and repentance, continues with the narrator telling how he fell asleep and dreamt he was dead. But instead of a great white throne and a judgment court, he finds himself standing alone with his thoughts on the shore of a vast, placid sea:

And day by day, and year by year, My life came back to me.

I seed just what I were, and what I’d ‘ad the charnce to be.

And all the good I might ‘a’ done, And ‘adn’t stopped to do.

I seed I’d made an ‘ash of it, And Gawd! but it were true.

A throng o’ faces came and went, Afore me on that shore, My wife, and mother, kiddies, pals, 11

Runningintonomansland_text.indd 11

13/06/2014 16:25

RUNNING INTO NO MAN’S LAND

And the face of a London whore.

And some was sweet, and some was sad, And some put me to shame, For the dirty things I’d done to ‘em, When I ‘adn’t played the game.

The stream of reminiscence is only broken when the narrator becomes aware of a powerful presence standing before him:

It seemed to me as though ‘Is face Were millions rolled in one; It never changed yet always changed, Like the sea beneath the sun.

‘Twere all men’s face yet no man’s face, And a face no man can see, And it seemed to say in silent speech, “Ye did ‘em all to Me. The dirty things ye did to ‘em, The filth ye thought was fine, Ye did ‘em all to Me,” it said, “For all their souls were Mine.”

All eyes was in ‘Is eyes – all eyes, My wife’s and a million more; And once I thought as those two eyes Were the eyes of the London whore.

And they was sad – my Gawd, ‘ow sad, Wiv tears what seemed to shine, And quivering bright wi’ the speech o’ light They said, “’Er soul was Mine.”

And then at last ‘E said one word, ‘E just said one word – “Well?”

And I said in a funny voice, 12

Runningintonomansland_text.indd 12

13/06/2014 16:25

WHY WOODBINE WILLIE?

“Please can I go to ‘Ell?” And ‘E stood there and looked at me, And ‘E kind ‘o seemed to grow, Till ‘E shone like the sun above my ‘ead, And then ‘E answered “No, You can’t, that ‘Ell is for the blind, And not for those that see.

You know that you ‘ave earned it, lad, So you must follow Me.” …

There ain’t no throne, and there ain’t no books, It’s ‘Im you’ve got to see, It’s ‘Im, just ‘Im, that is the Judge Of blokes like you and me.

And, boys, I’d sooner frizzle up, I’ the flames of a burnin’ ‘Ell, Than stand and look into ‘Is face, And ‘ear ‘Is voice say – “Well?”1

In the nurses’ residence, the kettle whistled and the spell was broken. Insults and cushions were thrown in the speaker’s direction. No one had requested a poetry recital, after all. But the poem stayed with me.

Days later I found myself in my Vicar’s study and, as he was the only literary-type I knew, I described the poem and asked if he knew anything about it. He said he couldn’t be sure (I’d no doubt mangled it beyond recognition) but it sounded like the work of the World War One chaplain Studdert Kennedy, commonly known as Woodbine Willie. I thanked him and promptly forgot about it.

Well, almost forgot. The unusually earthy language and the powerful images were lodged in my mind, now linked to the strange name of ‘Woodbine Willie’. Years later, in a charity bookshop, an unusual title caught my eye – The Unutterable Beauty. I pulled 13

Runningintonomansland_text.indd 13

13/06/2014 16:25