News on Screen

George Woods-Taylor spent ‘many years’ as a Fleet Street press photographer, but on the launch of the Topical Budget in September 1911 he joined the Topical Film Company as its first news editor, doubling as a cameraman. Woods-Taylor was still with Topical on the outbreak of war in August 1914, and he filmed for the Topical Budget in Belgium and France, including ‘the first film of British troops arriving in France.' Woods-Taylor may have been the cameraman on ‘INDIANS AT ARRAS,' in Topical Budget No.178-1 of January 1915. He may later have been employed by the War Office Cinematograph Committee on a freelance basis, and have provided material for the War Office Official Topical Budget after its launch in May 1917. In August 1917 it was urged that the dismissal of Bovill [qv] from the official newsreel should be delayed ‘at any until rate Taylor returns,' and this was probably a reference to Woods-Taylor. He certainly filmed the Jewish Battalion in London for ‘TO GARRISON JERUSALEM?' in No.337-1 of the War Office Official Topical Budget in February 1918, and in March 1918 was recruited by the Ministry of Information as an official cameraman, covering the home front along with Davies [qv] and Cooper [qv], who were recruited at the same time. Some of his material was technical footage, such as ‘Guns - Breech Mechanism,' but some was news coverage, and in July 1918 he provided film of the ‘KING AND QUEEN OF THE BELGIANS IN LONDON’ for Pictorial News (Official) No.359-1. As a cartoon in the Kinematograph Weekly of October 1918 shows, Woods-Taylor wore uniform when working for the Ministry of Information, but was apparently not given a commission.

When the Kine Cameraman’s Society was formed after the Armistice, in December 1918, its first President was Jack Wiggins [qv] and Woods-Taylor was its Secretary. By 1920 he was working for Cinechrome Limited, and in 1922 he filmed the Prince of Wales’ Indian tour for Cinechrome, with the results released by Stoll assixtwo-reelers under the title WITH H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES THROUGH INDIA AND BURMA (though the surviving copy at the BFI bears the title THROUGH INDIA AND BURMA WITH H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES (Official Film). Woods-Taylor also did some freelance work for the Daily Sketch Topical Budget, and he is credited as part of the teams that filmed ‘THE BOAT RACE 1923’ for No.604-2 of March 1923, and ‘THE ROYAL WEDDING’ and ‘THE CUP 1923’ for No.609-2 of April 1923. He also worked for the Pathe Gazette, being credited in March 1927 in the camera teams on ‘THE NATIONAL HUNT STEEPLECHASE’ in No.1379 and ‘THE GRAND NATIONAL’ in No.1384, and again in April 1927 on ‘THE BOAT RACE’ in No.1386 and ‘THE CUP FINAL’ in No.1392. Woods-Taylor later worked for British Filmcraft and was a cameraman on feature films.

Sources

Kinematograph Weekly, 3/10/1918, p.91, ‘With the Camera-Men’ [cartoon of Woods-Taylor by Davies]: Kine Year Book 1920, p.19; Kine Year Book 1921, p.594, ‘George Woods-Taylor’: Imperial War Museum, MoI (Film) Papers, ‘First World War Cameramen’ file, paper headed ‘List of Official Photographers’: L. Pontecorvo ‘Alphabetical Listing,' in J. Ballantyne (ed) ‘Researcher’s Guide to British Newsreels’ (BUFVC, 1983), p.93: Kevin Brownlow’s interview with B. Brooks Carrington, transcript of 20/10/1972, p.21 (this is the source of the ‘Rubberface’ nickname): IWM, Stephen Badsey’s biographical index of British official cameramen, 1914-1918: NFTVA, Luke McKernan’s biographical index of Topical Budget staff.