Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy Claimed

Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy, poet and author, famously known as "Woodbine Willy", was for some time the Vicar of St. Paul's Church in the city. He rose to fame during World War I when he became an army chaplain, his sermons and poetry helping boost morale to the troops. He acquired his nickname from his habit of handing out "Woodbine" cigarettes to the men in the trenches. After the war, Studdert Kennedy was given charge of the church of St Edmund, King and Martyr in Lombard Street, London.

He died in Liverpool in 1929, exhausted at the age of 45. His funeral took place Worcester, to which poor people flocked to pay their respects.