Second World War
Following the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Woodward joined the Second Australian Imperial Force as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster-General for the 6th Division AIF, and left for the Middle East in April 1940. In the Middle East he gained distinction during the North Africa campaign from December 1940 to January 1941 and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on 8 July 1941. He served in the Greece Campaign from March to April 1941 as a lieutenant colonel on General Sir Thomas Blamey's staff and later served in the I Corps in the Syrian campaign. In May 1942 he was posted to the 9th Division AIF. He fought in both the 1st and 2nd Battles of El Alamein and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order on 11 February 1943. He was twice mentioned in dispatches for his work in the Middle East.
Arriving back in Australia in February 1943, in March Woodward was promoted to the rank of brigadier and was posted to the headquarters of the Northern Territory Force until December 1943. He then served in various administrative positions until the end of the war. From July 1945 to March 1946 he was appointed deputy adjutant and quartermaster-general, at headquarters on Morotai.
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