Trials Guru is honoured to be permitted access to the photographs taken by the well-known film-maker, Mr. Charles Harold Wood of Bradford, who began a photographic career in 1922.
The firm of C.H. Wood (Bradford) Limited, formed in 1932 made many films for Castrol oils, both to publicise their products and promote motor sport in general.
Many motor and motor cycle clubs made use of the Castrol film facility for club film show evenings across the length and breadth of the UK.
Recently David Wood, son of C.H. Wood was speaking to Trials Guru’s John Moffat and they realised that they had family connections back to the late ninteen sixties and seventies.
In 1968, the Wood film company were shooting a film in Scotland at Ryeflat Farm, Carstairs, Lanarkshire. This was a scrambles event run by the Edinburgh Southern MC and Moffat’s father, T. Arnott Moffat was instrumental in organising the filming which was eventually formed part of the Castrol film, ‘Quartet for Two Wheels’. This was four motorcycle events in one movie. A scramble in Scotland, the Inter Centre Team Trial in Wales, Racing at Scarborough’s Olivers Mount and road racing at Kirkistown in County Down, Northern Ireland.
The Wood family attended these events and both David and Harold Wood met Arnott Moffat. David also met Moffat at many Scottish Six Days Trials over the years, when on location to make more films for the Castrol Film Library.
David Wood and John Moffat met at the 2014 Scott Trial Reunion dinner at the Ripon Spa Hotel, organised by mutual friend Alan ‘Sid’ Lampkin. The meeting was recorded by John Hulme of Trial Magazine that evening.
Some time later, David started looking at Trials Guru website and decided that it would be a good place to allow some of his father’s trials archive to be seen.
David Wood told Trials Guru recently: “My father was C. H. Wood of course but after he retired I ran the company for another twenty years, making over two-hundred motor sport films not only for Castrol and Shell, but for companies such as BSA/Triumph, Yamaha, Honda, Camel, Champion, Dunlop and Suzuki. The last Scottish Six Days film I made was ‘Mick Andrews Trials Champion’.
I kept the C. H. Wood name as a tribute to my father, but many people think he was a one man band who made films for 70 odd years. When I retired C.H. Wood (Bradford) Ltd had a staff of over 30.
The later films were made with quite large crews and though it was hard work I wouldn’t change anything”.
What better opportunity to do this but at Scott Trial time. So here we are, some examples of C.H. Wood’s work, some never having been seen in public before.
Trials Guru are delighted to be able to bring you these images and are indebted to David Wood’s generosity.
Please be aware that all these images belong to the David Wood Archive and no reproduction can be made without express written permission from Mr. David Wood.
TRIALS GURU 