Paul Woolston – What Was Pebble Mill?

Vanity Fair, photos by Chris Glover

Paul Woolston and VPR20 videotape machine mounted on carriage

Low loader

Paul Woolston on 2CV camera car + director Mike Morris

Cherry picker. For lighting purposes I think, rather than a camera platform

Photos by Chris Glover from the 1987 drama series, Vanity Fair.

The following comments were posted on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Malcolm Hickman: ‘Paul Woolston was a real gentleman. A sad loss..’

Jane Green: ‘Yes – lovely to see Paul Woolston in this pic. I was a runner on this. Up at 3am to bus in about a hundred extras to get into costume and make up – period dress – so took hours and hours, to shoot a ball scene at the Rothschilds’ fabulous Waddesdon Manor in Bucks. Seriously hard work! Lots of tired, hot, fed up actors to placate.’

GTC Award to Pebble Mill Camera Department

Copyright resides with the original holders no reproduction without permission

This was the presentation of the GTC’s (Guild of Television Camermen) TiCA (Television Cameraman’s Award) to the Pebble Mill camera department for Pebble Mill at One circa 1979.

The names are as follows:

Back (L to R): Doug Smith, Robin Sunderland, Bob Meikle, Don Cooper, Paul Woolston, Tony Wigley, Phil Wilson, Mike Solomons (GTC Chairman from Thames TV), Brian Cave, Jim Gray, Bob Hubbard, Chris Allen, not sure (perhaps Phil Sidey?), Jack Rooke, Keith Salmon, Dave Lawson, Dave Doogood, Dave Wilkins, Pete Edwards, Tim Konewko, Bhasker Solanki.

Kneeling down (L to R): Barrie Foster, Keith ‘Scouse’ Brook, Roger Mulliner, Dave Ballantyne, John Couzens, Eric Wise

(Thanks to James French for providing the names, Annie Gumbley Williams for sending me the photo and to Roger Mulliner for sharing it in the first place).

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Richard Stevenson: ‘That is an amazing picture! I have never seen so many cameramen in ties! Brilliant.’

Lynn Cullimore: ‘They all look so young and thats because they were – then. hah.’

Bob Bishop: ‘There are no women in the photograph, would that be the same today.’

Keith Brook (Scouse): ‘We were told to dress up by management. Bhaskar Solanki, far right (physically, not politically) went on to be a very, very successful news cameraman and is now a senior producer. Good for him!! I should also mention that I’m the only one wearing a waistcoat. Even then, standards were sloppy!!’

Paul Woolston in Lichfield Cathedral

Photo by Richard Stevenson, no reproduction without permission.

This 1990 photo is of cameraman Paul Woolston on a crane in Lichfield Cathedral, on a Songs of Praise outside broadcast. Kevin Gill (floor manager) on the left, and John Trew (grip) on the right.

Apparently, moments later the wheel of the crane disappeared into a heating grate and the crane nearly toppled over, with Paul still on the front of it.

Paul sadly died some years ago.

Thanks to Richard Stevenson for sharing the photo.

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Diane Reid: ‘Paul was lovely to work with and a great cameramen – it was one of my OBs – a Songs of Praise.’

Alex Johnston: ‘Paul was a truly lovely man always friendly and had a wonderful smile.’

Ian Barber: ‘He was a true gentleman, loved working with Paul and Dave Bushell.’

Tracy Cahill: ‘Very first OB I ever went on was at Lichfield cathedral, John Abbot sent me to ‘observe’ how it’s done. I only went cos Fred was the rigger.’

Sarah Beedle: ‘I remember that Songs of Praise – the grating did get broken.’

Helen Betts: ‘Christopher Betts, my son whom I am visiting in Virginia, clearly remembers playing the organ for Songs of Praise in 1990. He was the Cathedral’s organ scholar that year before going to Oxford University. He also says he cannot think of any of TV OBs that year.’

Ed Billington: ‘He was a very nice person and a professional at his job he always spoke to me when I was cleaning the studio.’

Paul Mcdonald: ‘Ah the joys of entrusting your life to the crane operator.’

Dave Ballantyne: ‘The camera is a Phillips/Pye LDK 5, Paul was a colleague and friend over many years, I still miss him, a special man.’

John Hoare: ‘I knew Paul well back in the sixties and seventies – a good friend and a true gentleman’

Resources booklet mid 1990s

Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission. This booklet was produced in the mid 1990s, as Resources were sold off from the rest of the BBC by John Birt, and had to commercialise activities.

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Dave Bushell: ‘The David Suchet production was ‘Bingo! by Edward Bond. David was a brilliant actor to work with – he always found his light!

The betacam cameraman is Jim Gray and in the left hand image it looks like Sue Cook interviewing with cameramen Paul Woolston and Doug ? and FM Steve Pierson.’

Stuart Gandy: ‘Although I can’t put a name to the productions, that little picture bottom right of the Aston brings back memories for me from the time I was engineer for graphics. The keyboard is for the Aston 4 character generator, which was a step up from the stalwart Aston 3’s we had. It could of course do more and fancier captions and the hands seen there would have been those of one of the specialist Aston operators working in the graphics department. The little box above it was one of the 6 or so homebuilt talkback boxes that allowed communication between the studio gallery and the aston desks in the graphics area. A era of turbulent change.’

Peter Poole: ‘Studio 3, the late Mark Decker and Archers producer. Dubbing Theatre, Neve mixer.’

Going for a Song group photo

Going for a Song team

Photo from Jane Mclean, no reproduction without permission.

The photo includes left to right:

Standing: Harry Middleton (on screen porter, red coat), Vicky Jepson (AP), Clair Sawtell (researcher),Dave Balllantyne (cam), Lee Harrigan, Keith Salmon, Dave Ashton, Dave Bushell (lighting director), James Patterson, Louise Willcox (sound), Mark Smithers, Sue Needs, Dave Brazier (FM), John Carney (lighting director) left of Michael Parkinson (Pres), Adam Schoon (antiques consultant), Eric Knowles (Pres), Natalie (AFM in black behind Jane Mclean), Herbie Donnelly (sparks, next to Eric), Dave Farline (long hair), Ian Cull, Mike Johnson, Nick Harris (studio director, at back, blonde hair, glasses), Dougie (warm up guy in yellow shirt), Paul Woolston (beard, Cam supervisor), Juliet Henson? (in front of Paul, in black).

Seated: Claire Hobbs (SP), Cathy (Parkinson’s PA), Parkinson’s mother, Jayne Mclean (PA), Andy Payne (camera), Howie Dartnall (camera)