[1] A British naval officer, Woods was born in Jersey in 1843 and educated at the Upper School of Greenwich Hospital (London), which offered training for the Royal Navy.

After finishing at the top of his class, he entered as a Masters Assistant.

On 17 October 1867, he was appointed a Navigating Lieutenant[2] (a rank which was formerly known as the Master).

After Abdul Hamid was deposed, he was reported by The New York Times to be present at the 1909 coronation of the succeeding sultan, Mehmed V.[3] Woods Pascha was invested as a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) by King Edward VII at Buckingham Palace on 11 August 1902.

[4][5] He was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Medjidie and Osminieh and was a Knight Commander of the Saxe-Coburg Order.