Joyce Gardner

Joyce Gardner (1910–1981) was an English professional English billiards player. She was the Women's Professional Billiards Champion from 1931 to 1933, and from 1935 to 1938.

Joyce Gardner
Gardner practicing with the aid of a mirror at Burroughes Hall in 1948
Born(1910-08-24)24 August 1910
Gloucester, Gloucestershire
Died29 August 1981(1981-08-29) (aged 71)
Pinner, London
Sport country England
Highest break318 (English billiards)
82 (snooker)
World Women's Billiards Champion1931–33, 1935–38

Early Life

Joyce Winifred Frances Gardner was born on 24 August 1910 in Gloucester.[1] While living in Gloucester Joyce's parents ran the Glevum Billiard hall. [2] But Joyce didn't take up billiards until the family moved to London where her father ran a billiards saloon in Holborn. [3] Initially she took up millinery and dressmaking, but she discovered that she had a skill for potting balls whilst helping her father clear up the billiard tables. [4]

Career

Margaret Lennan beat Joyce Gardner 1000-960 at Hull in September 1928 in a match billed as the British Championship. Billiard cloth manufacturers Howard and Powell provided a silver rose bowl for the winner.[5] This match is omitted from records in the handbooks of the Billiards and Snooker Control Council.

In 1930, she started working for cue sports company Burroughes and Watts, and received coaching from JP Mannock, Willie Smith and Sidney Smith.[6]

Burroughes and Watts organised the British Women's Billiards Championship in 1930,[7] a competition also known as the Burwat Billiards Cup. The following year, 1931, the Women's Billiards Association was formed: Gardner was one of the four professional players appointed to a committee to organise the professional championships, the others were Margaret Lennan, Eva Collins and Ruth Harrison.[8] It was agreed that the Association would take over the running of the competition as a world championship, with the same trophy as used in 1930.[9][10] Gardner won each year from 1930 until 1934, when Ruth Harrison won the first of her three titles.[11] The Scotsman, 23 February 1934.[12]

Her break of 96 in the 1930 final was the first break by a woman to receive a certificate of recognition from the Billiards Association and Control Council.[13] and she made the first century break in the competition, a 100 in 1934.[14]

Further victories in the World Professional Ladies Billiards Championship in 1935[lower-alpha 1], 1937 and 1938 gave Gardner a total of seven titles.[15] She was also runner-up six times, so appeared in a total of 13 finals in the 14 times the event was staged. The only year that she was not in the final was 1940, when she was beaten by Thelma Carpenter in the semi-final.[16] Liverpool Daily Post, 15 February 1940.[17]

Gardner's highest break at billiards was 318,[18] and at snooker it was 82.[19]

Later Life

Joyce married Arthur Williams on 9 October 1937 at St. Marylebone Parish Church in London.[20] She made two film appearances: It Happened in Leicester Square in 1949; and Jumping for Joy in 1956 where she played a billiards player.[21] It was reported that Joyce tutored the latter film's star Frankie Howerd who in the film "has a number of hair-raising interludes in a London billiards saloon".[22]

She continued playing until her late sixties and became the only woman member of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.[18]

Joyce Gardner died on 29 August 1981 in Pinner, London.[23]

Notes
  1. The Championship was played in both February and November 1935, and not in 1936

References
  1. Gardner, Joyce Winifred Frances. "Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1913". search.ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  2. "Girl Billiards Player". Gloucester Citizen. 22 January 1930. Retrieved 22 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. "Gloucester Girl as Cueist". Gloucester Citizen. 1 April 1930. Retrieved 22 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "Girl Billiards Champion". Gloucester Citizen. 15 February 1932. Retrieved 22 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. Holt, Willie (22 December 1931). "Letters: Women's Billiards Championship". The Billiard Player. No. January 1931). p. 31.
  6. Watson, GM. "Letters: Joyce Gardner's instructors". The Billiard Player. No. March 1932). p. 1.
  7. "Midland Girl's Billiards Title". Birmingham Daily Gazette. p.1. 4 April 1930 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 23 August 2019.CS1 maint: location (link)
  8. "Women's Billiards. Association Formed to Control the Championships". Lancashire Evening Post. 1 October 1931. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  9. "Women and Billiards". Uxbridge & West Drayton Gazette. p.18. 18 September 1932 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 22 August 2019.CS1 maint: location (link)
  10. "Women's Billiards. Association Formed to Control the Championships". Lancashire Evening Post. p.10. 18 September 1932 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 22 August 2019.CS1 maint: location (link)
  11. "Women's Billiards Championship". Leeds Mercury. 23 February 1933. p. 9 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  12. "Women Professionals". The Scotsman. 23 February 1933. p. 15 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  13. "Here and there notes". The Billiard Player. No. August 1930). p. 23.
  14. "Billiards – Women's Professional Championship". The Times. No. 46688. 26 February 1934. p. 7 – via The Times Digital Archive. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  15. "World Billiards » Blog Archive » World Ladies Billiards Champions". www.world-billiards.com. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  16. "Women's billiards". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 27 January 1940. p. 7 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  17. "Women's billiards title". Liverpool Daily Post. 15 February 1940. p. 8 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  18. Lee, Roger (October 2005). "Joyce Gardner: Queen of the baize". Snooker Scene. Everton's News Agency. p. 25.
  19. Morrison, Ian (1987). The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker. Twickenham: Hamlyn Publishing Group. pp. 47–48. ISBN 0600556042.
  20. "Woman Billiards Champion to Wed". Nottingham Journal. 24 September 1937. Retrieved 20 April 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  21. "Joyce Gardner". BFI. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  22. "Caption to photo of Joyce Gardner and Frankie Howard". Northern Whig. 11 October 1955. Retrieved 22 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  23. Williams, Joyce Winifred Frances. "England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995". search.ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
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