Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, known as 'Woodbine Willie,' was an Anglican priest and poet who served as a chaplain on the Western Front during World War I. He earned his nickname for providing injured and dying soldiers with both spiritual comfort and cigarettes. His poetry, appearing in works like 'Rough Rhymes of a Padre,' captures the raw reality of war and human suffering. Post-war, his views shifted towards pacifism and Christian socialism, reflected in later writings that critically examined social and ecclesiastical issues.
Marking the centenary of the end of the First World War, The Hardest Part offers a profoundly moving theology from within the trenches and offers for the first time, a new edition of a book by arguably the most famous 1st World War Army Chaplain, Studdert Kennedy, known as 'Woodbine Willie'.