Rex Woods (athlete)

Reginald Salisbury Woods was born at Dulwich to Henry Thomas Woods and Lilian (née Salisbury), sister of the portrait painter Frank O. Salisbury.^[1] He was educated at Dulwich College.^[4] From there he won an exhibition to Downing College, Cambridge, 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. 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.^[4] In 1918, he married Irene Charlotte, daughter of Thomas Pickering, of Tyneholme, Newcastle, and The Hill House, Gilsland, Cumberland. Irene was a nurse at St George's, and served as a controller (equivalent to a colonel) in the Auxiliary Territorial Service until being invalided out in 1945; from 1954 to 1967, she organised the City of Cambridge Women's Royal Voluntary Service, and was awarded the Territorial Decoration and appointed C.B.E. in 1947. They had a son and two daughters.^[5][6] Their son, Thomas Pickering Salisbury Woods, M.B.E., of Manor Court, Cambridge, was a Major in the Royal Artillery. His son, by his wife Patricia, Robert, married Hon. Lorna Suzanna Katherine, daughter of Simon Maxwell, 13th Baron Farnham.^[7]

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 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. Standing 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) and weighing 172 pounds (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 became the National shot put champion, after winning the AAA Championships title in 1924 and 1926^[8] 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.^[4] Aside from the University of Cambridge, he was also affiliated to the Achilles Club.^[2]

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.^[4] Woods was also an excellent quarter-miler and in 1913 he beat the 1912 Olympic runner Ernest Haley.