Jonathan Woodhouse (minister)

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The Reverend

Jonathan Woodhouse

CB QHC
Archbishop of Canterbury with military chaplains (Jonathan Woodhouse cropped).jpg
Woodhouse in 2013
Born (1955-03-29) 29 March 1955 (age 70)
Cardiff, Wales
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branch British Army
Years of service1990–2014
Rank Major-General
Service number 534661
Commands Royal Army Chaplains' Department
Battles / wars Cold War
Iraq War

Jonathan Woodhouse, CB , QHC (born 29 March 1955) is a British Baptist minister and retired senior British Army officer. He was Chaplain General and head of the Royal Army Chaplains' Department from 2011 to 2014. [1] [2] He is the first Baptist and the second member of the Free Churches to become Chaplain General. [3] [4]

Contents

Early life and education

Woodhouse was born on 29 March 1955 in Cardiff, Wales. [5] He was educated at Whitchurch Grammar School, a state grammar school in Whitchurch, Cardiff. [5] He studied at the London School of Theology a theological college in Northwood, London, graduating Bachelor of Arts (BA). [1] [6]

Ordained ministry

Woodhouse was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1980. [5] He served as a minister in Eastbourne, East Sussex and at Selsdon Baptist Church in Croydon, London. [1]

Military career

On 8 May 1990, Woodhouse was commissioned into the Royal Army Chaplains' Department, British Army, as a Chaplain to the Forces 4th Class (equivalent in rank to captain but lacking executive authority). [6] He transferred from a short service commission to a regular commission on 8 May 1995. [7] On 8 May 1996, he was promoted to Chaplain to the Forces 3rd Class (equivalent in rank to major). [8] He was promoted to Chaplain to the Forces 2nd Class (equivalent in rank to lieutenant colonel) on 30 October 2002. [9] In March 2003, he was posted to Iraq as part of the invasion force at the beginning of the Iraq War. [10] In July 2005, he was appointed the senior chaplain at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. [10]

On 1 January 2006, he was appointed Denominational Representative Chaplain of the United Board. [11] The United Board is a special grouping of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the United Reformed Church and the Congregational Federation for the purpose of providing military chaplains. [12] He was promoted to Chaplain to the Forces 1st Class (equivalent in rank to colonel) on 2 May 2006. [13] On 2 May 2008 he was appointed Deputy Chaplain General and the granted the rank of brigadier. [14] On 29 July 2011, he was appointed Chaplain General to Her Majesty's Land Forces and promoted to the rank of major general. [15]

Woodhouse has seen active service, working on the frontline in Iraq during the 2003 to 2011 war. [4] He has also completed overseas postings to Germany. [1]

Later career

In 2015, Woodhouse served as Convenor of the United Navy, Army and Air Force Board: [5] it "is responsible for [recommending] ordained ministers from Baptist, URC, Congregational, Elim and Assemblies of God denominations to serve in the chaplaincies of the Royal Navy, Army or Royal Air Force". [16] Since 2015, he has been a chaplain at Moorlands College, a non-denominational evangelical theological college in Hampshire. [5]

Honours and decorations

Order of the Bath (ribbon).svg Iraq Medal BAR.svg Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon.png QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg

On 1 August 2008, Woodhouse was appointed Honorary Chaplain to the Queen (QHC). [17] He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2014 Birthday Honours. [18] [19]

He is a recipient of the Iraq Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. [4] [20]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Former LST student gets top job in the Army". LATEST NEWS. London School of Theology. 27 July 2010. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  2. ↑ "Call me Padre' – meet the Army's head chaplain". Ministry of Defence. 15 November 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  3. ↑ Woods, Mark. "Kingdom builders". The Baptist Times. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "Army chaplains 'need to show their steel under pressure'". The Times . 1 October 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "WOODHOUSE, Rev. Jonathan". Who's Who 2016. Oxford University Press. November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  6. 1 2 "No. 52138". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 May 1990. p. 9160.
  7. ↑ "No. 54027". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 May 1995. p. 6606.
  8. ↑ "No. 54397". The London Gazette . 13 May 1996. p. 6688.
  9. ↑ "No. 56742". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 November 2002. p. 13364.
  10. 1 2 Gledhill, Ruth (8 March 2006). "Princes get ethics lesson: no torture and no revenge". The Times . Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  11. ↑ "No. 57906". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 February 2006. p. 2495.
  12. ↑ "United Board" . Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  13. ↑ "No. 57970". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 May 2006. p. 5983.
  14. ↑ "No. 58690". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 May 2008. p. 6866.
  15. ↑ "No. 59866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 August 2011. p. 14713.
  16. ↑ "About Us". unitedboard.org.uk. United Navy, Army and Air Force Board. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  17. ↑ "No. 58786". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 August 2008. p. 11862.
  18. ↑ "No. 60895". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 2014. p. b3.
  19. ↑ "Queen's birthday honours list 2014: Military". The Guardian. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  20. ↑ "Service of Remembrance to Commemorate the 70th anniversary of El Alamein". Press & Communications. Westminster Abbey. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
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