After graduating from Salford University, Peter Wood joined the Spillers Research Centre in Cambridge. His work on the biochemistry of bread making earned him a PhD from Aston University. Subsequently, he became Research Controller for the Milling & Baking Division. There followed a spell as General Manager of a food ingredients company before he left to join RHM’s Hovis Bakeries as Technical Executive.
His responsibilities included bakery technical support, quality control, product development and customer support. As part of his role, he chaired the technical committees of several trade organisations, representing them in Europe when dealing with EC regulations. On his retirement in 2006, he served for four years as a Scientific Advisor to the Food Research Association.
His move to RHM brought him to Crowthorne in 1988. His three children all attended Edgbarrow School, as have two of his grandchildren.
Privately, his great passions are mountaineering and fly fishing. He has climbed extensively in Scotland, the Alps and the Himalayas. Then, in his early seventies, he obtained a private pilot’s licence to fly microlights.
A lifelong Conservative, he chaired the Crowthorne Branch for six years until 2026. In 2023, he was elected to Crowthorne Parish Council and became its Chairman two years later. As a councillor, he campaigned for an improved bus service from the station to the High Street and successfully lobbied for the restoration of the station building.
