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| The young John Hood in Pinewood Sound Department's Power Room |
It's just over a year since John Hood died and I apologise for the delay in printing this short resume of his life. There must be many members who knew John well; for those who didn't, he was a key member of Pinewood Studios' Sound Department for more than thirty years. The following article, compiled from an interview I did with him for the BECTU Oral History Archive shortly before he died, may give them further insight into the reserved, quietly spoken man he was. John was born in Yokohama, Japan in 1905. His Scottish father, who worked in exporting and insurance, had been brought up in a Japanese orphanage. His mother, the daughter of a judge in the British Civil Service, was born in Shanghai. John's childhood education was at a Jesuit school in Yokohama. He remembered clearly seeing Samurai walking about in their full regalia, swords and all, and the harbour full of sea-going junks, that traded throughout the Pacific Ocean. In 1921 his mother brought him and his sister to Britain for further education. From 1923 to 1926 he followed a course of Electrical Engineering at the Regent Street Polytechnic in London. Studying with him at that time were three other young men - Sash Fisher, Richard Smith and Bill Gear who later were also to become well known in motion picture sound activities. On completion of his course, John joined British Thompson Huston in their switch gear factory in Rugby, and later, to their test department, also in Rugby. In 1932 he moved to Birmingham where he was employed building fractional horse power motors. It was in 1931 that John lost a leg as a result of a motorcycle accident. He was run into by another motorcycle and suffered a compound fracture of his left leg. His wife, riding pillion at the time, was unhurt. Unfortunately the wound refused to heal and gangrene set in making amputation necessary. Before the loss of his leg, John had been a great sports enthusiast, taking part in swimming, rowing and judo with the Polytechnic sports club. Fortunately he was able to adapt his swimming style enabling him to continue swimming and play water polo. During the war he used to spend his summer lunch hours swimming in the fire reservoir at Pinewood. He continued his swimming activities well into his seventies. The motor cycle was replaced with an old overhead cam Morris Minor. The car, with a damaged wooden body cost him 2-10-00 (2.50) but he was able to buy another old body for 10/- (50p) which he fitted himself. To overcome the problem of driving with one leg, he screwed an L-shaped metal plate to the clutch pedal thus enabling him to operate the clutch with the heel of his right foot, and the brake with his toes. He connected a Bowden cable to the throttle
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How editor Peter Seabourne saw John at work (1949) |
and mounted it on the steering wheel. On the first trip out, however, to his surprise and alarm the throttle opened up when he attempted to turn a corner. He modified the arrangement by mounting the Bowden control on the steering column. From then on he drove the old Morris Minor successfully for the next three years and during that time made many trips from London to Birmingham and back. His next car was an Austin Big 7 to which he made the same clutch-brake-throttle modification. He and his wife made holiday camping trips, touring extensively over the British Isles from Land's End to John O'Groats. The Big 7 did 50 miles to the gallon but couldn't do more than 50 mph, however, late at night the journey from Birmingham to London could be done in two hours. John of course had other cars after that and he didn't give up driving until he was 90. His mother and sister returned to Japan in 1928 and he never saw them again. His father and sister died in 1936. His mother lived on in Japan throughout the war and he was able to send her money and comforts through the Red Cross. Evidently non-Japanese people who had lived in Japan before the war were able to stay on, unhindered, in the homes they owned. His mother died in 1948. John first entered the film business in June 1936 at the invitation of Cyril Crowhurst, who was then in charge of sound maintenance at B&D Studios, Elstree. The job was electrical maintenance, looking after the sound department power house. After the fire at B&D Studios, the equipment was moved over to the newly built Pinewood Studios where John continued his job looking after the power house. At the outbreak of war in 1939, film production ceased and he was made redundant, but found employment with EMI. However after the first panic and excitement of war settled down, the government decided that film production should resume and so Cyril recalled John, this time to the power house at Denham Studios. The Blitz took it's toll on Denham's sound department and John was made redundant again. Lucas and Rover in the Midlands provided him with a living during 1941 and 1942. Then once more the voice of Cyril Crowhurst was heard and John was back in the business at Pinewood where he remained until he retired in 1975.
BOB ALLEN