John Wooddisse was born in Derbyshire in 1933. He joined the Army under National Service in 1952 and undertook officer training at Eaton Hall before joining the 1st Battalion The Sherwood Foresters.

They were based in Derna on the Libyan coast, 100 miles west of Tobruk. The Battalion was equipped with half tracks but were not especially busy. Much of his time seems to have been spent riding, trekking through the mountains and hunting. Indeed, he was a prominent member of the Derna Djebel Hunt. There is no record of the Derna Djebel Hunt catching a fox but there is plenty of evidence to suggest that they had a very good time.

He self-evidently enjoyed his National Service and in 1956 applied for and received a Regular commission in the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment. The 1st Battalion was in Malaya, part of the response to the Malayan Emergency. He was appointed the Mortar Platoon Commander, operating in Negri Sambilan, Peri and East Johore as part of a hard, gritty campaign that involved plenty of small scale actions deep in the jungle.

Ambushes, based on good intelligence, were the modus operandi of choice. The Mortar platoon played a full part, with a series of successful operations conducted both as an infantry platoon and in the provision of fire support to battalion or company operations.

After a period at 12 Bde in Minden, and by now a Royal Anglian, in 1964 he volunteered for 18 months service with the Sultan’s Armed Forces in Oman. He commanded A Company of the Northern Frontier Regiment then based in the remote and precipitous Jebel Akhdar in the northern part of the country. The operational intensity at that stage in the campaign was relatively low, but the challenge of living high in the jebel with minimal support for an extended period was high.

Food and accommodation were rudimentary; mod cons were limited to whisky and the occasional bottle of gin. The photo above shows John with Sheik Nasser bin Abdulla al Awani, premier Sheik on the Jebel Akhdar at Saiq. Leading an infantry Company (85% of whom hailed from Baluchistan in Pakistan) demanded a special type of officer. Mutiny was not uncommon; survival was an achievement in itself. John Wooddisse thrived, retaining an affection for Oman and its people for the rest of his life.

After two years as Adjutant of 4/6th LINCOLNS he took command of A Company of the 2nd Battalion. The Battalion was based in Felixstowe and then Gibraltar, While on exercise in Singapore he had the good fortune to meet his future wife, Ann. Two years in Cyprus as a staff officer followed, and then a return to Regimental Duty, this time to the Pompadours as OC HQ Company in Paderborn. Two emergency tours to Northern Ireland dominated the posting, the first to Belfast and the second to Londonderry. Neither were easy, and while his role as community relations officer was not the most demanding from an operational perspective, it suited his warm and engaging personality. It was not without risk either. He frequently attended community meetings in the Divis flats in Belfast and the Creggan in Londonderry, usually alone and without support.

After a short period in the MOD, his last posting in the Army was with 5 R ANGLIAN in Peterborough where he served as the Training Major. He enjoyed the role but while there decided that he should leave the Army and try his hand at a civilian career. He and the family returned to Derbyshire where many years before he had bought a run down but pretty house near Dovedale. After a short flirtation with politics he became Director of the Derbyshire Rural Community Council, a charitable body designed to improve rural life across the county. It was an ideal landing ground for him and he loved it.

It reconnected him with the county of his birth and gave him a platform to help people and communities most in need. In 1987 he was asked to take up the role of Commandant of the Derbyshire ACF and later became Honorary Colonel, a responsibility which he embraced. He was deeply popular and respected; his enthusiasm, sense of fun and genuine warmth worked wonderfully well and impacted on a generation of cadets and adult volunteers. In 1989 he was appointed Deputy Lord Lieutenant for Derbyshire.

A wanderer at heart, the bulk of his retirement was spent with Ann in the northern Lake District in a remote but stunning part of the country. He liked its wildness, its beauty and its elevation; it seems that his time in the Jebel Akhdar never really left him. Retirement allowed him to indulge in his passion for history. He became a much-loved guide in the local stately home and a regular and prominent supporter of the Matterdale Archaeological Society.

He was chairman of the Army Benevolent Fund in Cumbria, where he helped to raise many thousands of pounds over many years. He also wrote a series of booklets on his military career which successfully capture the deeds and spirit of a generation of soldiers who fought small wars in difficult places, often out of sight and mind, but always with compassion, resilience and healthy degree of humour.

John Wooddisse will be remembered for many things. He was unfailingly optimistic and his enthusiasm knew no bounds. He was generous with all that he had and immeasurably kind; he would drop anything and everything to help a friend (or more commonly one of his children) when they needed help.

He was slightly mischievous and great fun, successfully balancing his professional achievements with a lightness of touch, generosity of spirit and ever-present humour that left all that he touched better for the experience. But he was first and foremost an amazing and hugely loved husband, father and grandfather whose gentle influence and undying love leave his family forever enriched.