Woodwark’s career was almost exclusively one of public service. He served in the armed forces in the First World War. Having been for some years associated with the local Territorials, Woodwark raised and trained battalions in England in the early period of the War. He served in France, 1916–18 and was wounded on the Somme. While in France he gained the Legion of Honour (1917) and was mentioned in despatches in the same year. On discharge from hospital he joined the War Office and was then sent on the British War Mission to America in 1918. He remained in the US for fifteen months, during which period frequently deputised for the British Ambassador, Lord Reading. He retained his connection to the TA reaching the rank of Colonel in the 2/5th Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment, although during his mission to the US and throughout he 1920s he was frequently referred to as Lieutenant-Colonel.