Terrington was an expert on Greek affairs after he first got involved with the resistance forces in Greece against the Germans during the Second World War, and then having served in the British Embassy.

After completing his education, he enlisted in the Royal Artillery in 1939 and served for the duration of the Second World War, being commissioned as an officer in 1940 and rising to the rank of colonel by 1943.

In September 1942 Woodhouse was parachuted to mainland Greece as the Second-in-Command of the Harling Force, headed by Eddie Myers, whose task was to blow up the Gorgopotamos bridge.

Following the success of this operation Myers and Woodhouse were ordered by SOE Cairo to stay on in mainland Greece and form the British Military Mission.

Due to his imposing appearance of being tall with burning ginger beard this was no mean feat, but he succeeded in numerous trips into the Athenian suburbs, often still wearing British Army uniform.

By 1952, when he was tasked with launching the CIA- and MI6-funded "left-of-centre" propaganda magazine Encounter in tandem with CIA's Michael Josselson and Lawrence de Neufville, he served in the secret Information Research Department of the Foreign Office.

[7] Woodhouse entered Parliament in 1959 and later served in the Conservative governments of Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home as Parliamentary Secretary for Aviation from 1961 to 1962 and then Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department from 1962 to 1964.

He was defeated by Evan Luard in the 1966 Labour landslide and then worked at the Confederation of British Industry until 1970, when he was once again returned to Parliament for Oxford.