Castle Combe's 1950s racing days recalled in family archive

The collection has come to light recently as Michael Woodman died just over a year ago, and his daughter Jackie Harding has been discovering the family archives and sharing some of its highlights.

This week we have a selection of pictures of events at the Castle Combe Circuit from the 1950s. The circuit opened in the summer of 1950, making it one of the longest established circuits in the UK. In that first year, a young Stirling Moss won a race.

"We are a Slaughterford and Castle Combe family," Jackie said. "My great grandfather Kingman was a gamekeeper at Wraxall Park in the early 1900s and then he and my great grandmother ran the Castle Inn in Castle Combe from 1914 until 1928.

"My grandmother went to Castle Combe school and married a Castle Combe boy, Leslie Woodman and he worked for and subsequently became manager at WJ Dowdings paper mill in Slaughterford, living in the mill house. My father, Michael Woodman, grew up in Slaughterford and also worked for the paper mill until we moved in the 1970’s."

She said: "My grandfather and dad were both keen photographers and I was given the task of sorting through them by my sisters. It would appear that I come from a long line of collectors who have kept some extraordinary pieces of family memorabilia from my great grandfather Woodman’s army pay book from the 1800s, to photo albums from that era, to school reports for my dad.

"My father was also a family history buff so I have lots of research too. It has been a journey and I constantly wish I had asked more questions, as we all do, but I was blessed with a father and grandmother who loved to share family stories so have some wonderful tales."

Jackie is a writer herself, working for a website called Dispatches Europe, and she lives in the Netherlands.

"My dad would have been so delighted, and a little bemused, that these photos were being given such attention," she said.