Born in London, Woods was the son of a Metropolitan Police Sub-Divisional Inspector and was educated at Finchley Grammar School.
The following year he was appointed Commandant of Bramshill Police College, and in 1970 returned to the Met as Assistant Commissioner "B" (Traffic).
[3] This caused a certain amount of controversy, since he had never previously served in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which he was now taking over.
[4] Robert Mark, the new Commissioner, had already stated that he believed uniformed and CID officers should be interchangeable in senior posts, and Woods's appointment was the first example of this policy.
[6] He was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in the 1977 Birthday Honours.