Sir Frank Woods (6 April 1907 – 29 November 1992) was an Australian Anglican bishop. From 1957 to 1977, he was Archbishop of Melbourne. He was also the Primate of Australia from 1971 to 1977.

Life and career

Early life

Woods was born in 1907 in Davos, Switzerland. He was the son of the Right Reverend Edward Sydney Woods (1877-1953), Bishop of Lichfield in the Church of England, and Rachel Clemence Barclay. In 1914, the family moved back to England where his father became an army chaplain and vicar before his consecration as the suffragan Bishop of Croydon in 1930, later becoming Bishop of Lichfield in 1937. Woods' siblings included the photographer Janet Woods, Samuel Woods, an archdeacon in New Zealand, and Robin Woods, Bishop of Worcester. His nephew Theodore Woods was Bishop of Winchester.

Education

Woods was educated at Marlborough College from 1920. In 1929 he was elected president of the Student Christian Movement (SCM) at Cambridge. In 1930, Woods attended Trinity College, Cambridge, which lead to his master's degree in 1933.

Later years

On 9 June 1936, Woods married Jean Margaret Sprules. His father was the officiant of the wedding service which was held at St Alban's Abbey.

Ordained ministry

Woods was ordained as a priest in 1932, After a curacy at St Mary's Church, Portsea, in the Diocese of Portsmouth he became chaplain of his Cambridge alma mater, Trinity College. He then became vice-principal of Wells Theological College. During the Second World War, he served as a chaplain in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and then, successively, a vicar in Huddersfield (1945–52); Suffragan Bishop of Middleton (1952–57); and, in 1957, Archbishop of Melbourne for over 20 years. From 1971 he was also the Anglican Primate of Australia.

Honours

Woods was appointed, on 3 June 1972, a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE). He used the title of "Sir", as is the established protocol in Australia for knighted clergy. He was also a Chaplain of the Order of St John (ChStJ).