Edward Woodman was born in Hornsey, London on 19 October 1884. His father was a chartered accountant. He was at school in Barnet and later in Bromley before entering St Bartholomew's Hospital where he passed the MB BS with honours and distinction in 1908. He worked at the Institute of Pathology under Professor Aschoff before obtaining the FRCS in 1909. He held house surgeon appointments at St Bartholomew's and Highgate before he became cancer research registrar at the Middlesex Hospital. He held this appointment for three years during which time he obtained the MS degree and Gold Medal. In 1912 he was appointed assistant surgeon to Birmingham General Hospital. During the first world war Edward Woodman served in the RAMC in France and was surgeon in charge of one hospital receiving the vast numbers of casualties from the battle of the Marne. From 1918 he devoted his further career to cancer of the nose, throat and maxilla and changed to oto-rhino-laryngology as a consultant to the United Birmingham Hospitals. At the age of 63 he became a barrister at the Inner Temple and served for a short time as assistant coroner for the borough of St Pancras. He married and had two sons and a daughter. His interests were varied and included yachting, cricket, restoration of old houses and homeopathy. In 1952 he moved to South Africa and died on 7 May 1974, at Somerset West, near Cape Town.