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Believe it or not, WODS began as an indirect consequence of the bad labour relations in the Liverpool docks!

In 1975 the word 'redundancy' had begun to appear in the media. Companies were moving and with the move of Tate & Lyle from Liverpool to London, came Ron Taylor and his wife Sandra. At that time, Woodmansterne Village Hall Committee was struggling to raise funds. The committee co-opted Sandra Taylor to assist with the fund raising. An old time music hall was discussed and very soon rehearsals were in progress. Friends and neighbours were roped in and St Peters Church Hall was booked and the show was on the road. It was the spring of 1976.

While Sandra organised everybody, Ron took on the role of Musical Director and organist. The church hall wasn't equipped to be a theatre - curtains had to be pinned up. There was no sound system or stage lighting and the whole show cost £12.50 to stage! However, it was a roaring success, the hall funds received a big boost and the audience wanted more!

Within days, members of a long defunct concert party had made themselves known. Another show was devised and on the way. It was to be a revue so the auditioning for talent began. And what talent was revealed! As well as the local folk we were joined by Alan Byers, a tenor from the BBC's Nigel Brooks singers. This revue set the standard for WODS' early years, with the right balance of excellent music, the sentimental, the humorous and not forgetting audience participation.

Another few variety shows followed, along with the forming of junior WODS, made up of 30 plus children who attended tap and dance classes taught by Sandra Taylor and Anne Cohn. WODS broke away from the Village Hall Committee and started a proper society with rules and a constitution. Since those days the society has gone from strength to strength and now performs three shows a year (one of these being a junior WODS production).