Bosnia, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan…the pictures of the soldiers on Tom Woodall’s office wall are not only a reminder of a distinguished service career, but also of how unpredictable our world can be.
Perhaps that’s why, just a year into his role as Chief Executive of Driffield Agricultural Society, he’s so passionate about defending and preserving a community and event that, in spirit at least, hasn’t changed since 1854. Continuity matters to him.
Halted only by two world wars, outbreaks of pestilence and agricultural depression, Driffield Show bounced back time and again to celebrate and communicate East Yorkshire’s farming heritage, its Victorian founders unaware of the chasm that would develop between town and country folk as the industrial revolution changed the face of Britain.
In his captain’s quarters, transformed from a utilitarian Portakabin into what feels like a cosy officers’ mess, complete with pot plants, leather armchairs and his handsome Labrador, Stanley, Tom reaches for a well-thumbed copy of the society’s articles of association.
Quoting, he says: “[For] the advancement of the science and practice of agriculture, horticulture and kindred trades, professions and activities. To advance education for the public benefit’…
“I think the show absolutely does that. It allows visitors to understand what farmers are doing in the background to make sure we can all put food on the table,” he adds.
From visitor to CEO
Originally from the West Midlands, Tom wasn’t a complete stranger to what’s become the biggest one-day show in the country. His wife’s family is local to Driffield and they’d joined the throng many times as visitors when Tom was home on leave. Walking around his first event this year as chief executive, though, was an altogether different experience.
“From being a visitor to being the CEO, it just feels a lot busier!” he laughs. “The amount of attendees – around 22,000 people – amazes me, and the time between 10am and midday felt overwhelming. But it’s absolutely fantastic. There’s a real buzz about the place.”
He was fortunate that by the time he got his feet under the table last October, the well-oiled engine that delivers the annual event – a tiny permanent staff of six, a show committee and a legion of 360 volunteers (roughly the size of Tom’s old 16th Signal Regiment, The Royal Corps of Signals) – was already chugging efficiently towards 2025.
It gave him the opportunity to observe and learn, knowing that when the day itself came round in July, his role would be that of chief firefighter, dealing with any immediate problems (of which there were, thankfully, few), shaking hands and posing for the obligatory photographs.
As a former regimental sergeant major who retired from the army a captain, he knows a tight squad when he sees one, and Driffield Show’s was impressive, he says. “It’s really quite humbling. I came into this role as the proud custodian of an amazing community.”
The showground isn’t the parade ground, though, and it does require a different leadership style. Less command and control and more steer and suggest.
“You have to take people with you on the journey,” he says. “Sometimes it’s about whispering in the committee chair’s ear and just making sure that everyone has a voice.”
He’s even more keen to canvass opinion as he leads the society and the show into and beyond its 150th event in 2026. That doesn’t mean disruption, Tom stresses, but it will mean evolution.
“The show is a set piece. We have a great plan, and I’m sticking to it,” he says. There’s no hidden agenda to change the winning format.
“We are and should be proud of being a one-day show and that’s what it will remain. We would self-harm if we did anything else.
“We ride off the back of the Great Yorkshire Show, which is four days and a lot of our exhibitors also show there. To roll straight into another extended show would not work for them.
“I also have to think about the smaller shows that come after us. Ryedale is two weeks later and if we changed our dates that would have a knock-on effect on them, too.”
Every profession has its network and for Tom the connections he’s made through the Association of Show and Agricultural Organisations and the Yorkshire Federation of Show Societies have been invaluable, including Ryedale Show Secretary Keira Sirr-Hovendon who has been ‘a steady source of practical wisdom’, says Tom. “Her recent experience in the same role has helped me move forward with confidence.”
Helping Driffield navigate a path
Alongside ongoing concerns about the restrictions that had been placed on events by avian flu and Bluetongue, there were two big topics of conversation that dominated his first conferences.
The most concerning for mid-sized shows like Driffield is the fall-out from the Manchester Arena bombing, which killed 22 people during an Ariana Grande concert in 2017. The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act, otherwise known as Martyn’s Law, due to be implemented next year, is the government’s response and will require all event organisers to carry out additional risk assessment, risk reduction and staff training to mitigate the threat of similar lone wolf terror attacks.
“The legislation could have a big impact on shows like us,” concedes Tom, given their location and the fact that many of the country pursuits on display involve potential weapons. That said, his professional skillset couldn’t be better suited to helping Driffield navigate a path through it.
On a lighter note, visitor numbers at shows have risen across the UK this year, possibly thanks to the rise of popular TV shows about farming.
The headline event isn’t the only one the society holds on the 77-acre site at Kellythorpe. For the past six years, it’s hosted 2,000 local children for an Education Day, with activities around food and farming.
“Bolted on to the Education Day is a Careers Day, which is open to everyone of any age,” says Tom. “The purpose is to try to retain talent in East Yorkshire rather than losing people to the RAC or wherever, from where they disappear to jobs elsewhere.”
A homecoming
The headline event isn’t the only one the society holds on the 77-acre site at Kelleythorpe. For the past six years, it’s hosted 2,000 local children for an Education Day, with activities around food and farming.
“Bolted on to the Education Day is a Careers Day, which is open to everyone of any age,” says Tom. “The purpose is to try to retain talent in East Yorkshire rather than losing people to the RAC or wherever, from where they disappear to jobs elsewhere.”
Tom would have jumped at the chance of a career in farming if it had crossed the mind of a career advisor in Greater Birmingham to suggest it. But now he’s able to put a lifetime’s experience in leadership, organisation, logistics, and communication to the industry’s advantage instead.
He inherited a positive balance sheet, based on a revenue model that saw the society rent out its ground and buildings 92 times last year – or almost twice a week. But he believes there are even more income-generating opportunities and, with a supportive board of directors, it’s up to him to decide where to invest to achieve it. Making the Rix Pavillion conference centre a more versatile and therefore more lucrative asset will likely be his first major project.
As a soldier, loyalty and teamwork were foundational to Tom. In that respect Driffield Show and the society behind it feels like a homecoming.
“Working with likeminded people with one mission, that’s what it’s about,” he says.
“I’m hugely invested in the longevity of this society. I want it to be here for generations to come.”