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SO THIS IS TRIALS NOSTALGIA! When a young works rider for Scott Motorcycles named Harold Wood decided to take up photography in 1920, he saw it as welcome, albeit minor, distraction from his career as a trials rider; he certainly didn’t envisage it becoming the skill that would define his future career. But that’s what happened. Wood forged a career as a photographer and filmmaker, capturing the burgeoning British motorcycle scene on 16mm film. His primary intention was to show his films at motorcycle club nights in and around Bradford. In the time before television became widespread, this was the only way fans could catch a glimpse of the latest action. The release of So this is Yorkshire! on DVD and VHS brings his work to a much bigger audience. The film is a nostalgia piece covering the Yorkshire trials scene during the ‘50s and ‘60s, featuring coverage from events in 1955, 1956 and 1962. The somewhat strange title refers to a running joke between the northern trialists and their southern conterparts, who (when faced with the rolling hills and angular terrain of the Yorkshire moors) often remarked: “so this is Yorkshire!” The film uses contemporary commentary from Wood’s ex-trials rival Allan Jefferies and six-times World Champion Geoff Duke, whom he knew from filming the TT during Duke’s ‘50s heyday. Indeed, the release is another chapter in the long history that exists between his company, C H Woods of Bradford, and Duke Video: in 1983 his son, David Wood, produced The Island - the first-ever Duke release. Of course, the primary purpose of this release is to provide documentary evidence of a bygone time in British Motorcycling history. However, So this is Yorkshire! is also a tribute to Harold Wood, a man whose self-funded 16mm films give us a vital, moving account of a time that had previously only been kept alive through yellowing photographs and fond, rambling anecdotes. So this is Yorkshire! is priced at £16.99 (DVD 84mins) £14.99 (VHS 84mins). Both are available from leading video outlets or direct from Duke Video: Tel 01624 640000, fax 01624 640001 or email mail@dukevideo.com
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