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]

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.[11] and she made the first century break in the competition, a 100 in 1934.[12]

Gardner 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.[13][14]

Gardner's highest break at billiards was 318,[15] and at snooker it was 82.[16]

She was a guest on the introductory episode of the second series of the popular British TV snooker show Pot Black in 1970.[17][18]

Later life

Gardner married Arthur Williams on 9 October 1937 at St. Marylebone Parish Church in London.[19] She made two film appearances: It Happened in Leicester Square in 1949; and Jumping for Joy in 1956 where she played a billiards player.[20] It was reported that Gardner tutored the latter film's star Frankie Howerd who in the film "has a number of hair-raising interludes in a London billiards saloon".[21]

She continued playing until her late sixties and became the only woman member of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.[15] She died on 29 August 1981 in Pinner, London.[22]

Titles and achievements

Snooker

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponentScoreRef.
Runner-up 11934Women's Professional Snooker ChampionshipRuth Harrison6–7[23]
Runner-up 21935Women's Professional Snooker ChampionshipRuth Harrison5–7[24]
Runner-up 31937Women's Professional Snooker ChampionshipRuth Harrison4–9[25]

Billiards

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponentScoreRef.
Winner 11930Women's Professional Billiards ChampionshipEva Collins1,500–727[26][27]
Winner 21931Women's Professional Billiards ChampionshipEva Collins2,000–1,185[26][27]
Winner 31932Women's Professional Billiards ChampionshipRuth Harrison2,000–1,713[26][27]
Winner 41933Women's Professional Billiards ChampionshipRuth Harrison2,000–1,306[26][27]
Runner-up 51934Women's Professional Billiards ChampionshipRuth Harrison1,608–2,000[26][27]
Runner-up 61935Note 1Women's Professional Billiards ChampionshipRuth Harrison3,000-2,708[28][29]
Winner 71935Note 1Women's Professional Billiards ChampionshipMargaret Lennan3,000–2,872[30]
Winner 81937Women's Professional Billiards ChampionshipRuth Harrison2,223–2,204[30]
Winner 91938Women's Professional Billiards ChampionshipThelma Carpenter2,313-1,824[30]
Runner-up 101939Women's Professional Billiards ChampionshipRuth Harrison1,792-2,559[31]
Runner-up 111948Women's Professional Billiards ChampionshipThelma Carpenter1,670-2,659[32]
Runner-up 121949Women's Professional Billiards ChampionshipThelma Carpenter2,528-3,120[33]
Runner-up 131950Women's Professional Billiards ChampionshipThelma Carpenter1,374-1,978[34]

Notes
Note 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". Ancestry. 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 (January 1931). "Letters: Women's Billiards Championship". The Billiard Player. p. 31.
  6. Watson, GM (March 1932). "Letters: Joyce Gardner's instructors". The Billiard Player. p. 1.
  7. "Midland Girl's Billiards Title". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 4 April 1930. p. 1.
  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. 18 September 1932. p. 18.
  10. "Women's Billiards. Association Formed to Control the Championships". Lancashire Evening Post. 18 September 1932. p. 10.
  11. "Here and there notes". The Billiard Player. No. August 1930). p. 23.
  12. "Billiards – Women's Professional Championship". The Times. No. 46688. 26 February 1934. p. 7.
  13. "Women's billiards". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 27 January 1940. p. 7.
  14. "Women's billiards title". Liverpool Daily Post. 15 February 1940. p. 8.
  15. Lee, Roger (October 2005). "Joyce Gardner: Queen of the baize". Snooker Scene. Everton's News Agency. p. 25.
  16. Morrison, Ian (1987). The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker. Twickenham: Hamlyn Publishing Group. pp. 47–48. ISBN 0600556042.
  17. "Joyce Gardner". IMDb.
  18. "Pot Black: BBC2 Snooker Competition". Radio Times. No. 2419. 21 March 1970. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  19. "Woman Billiards Champion to Wed". Nottingham Journal. 24 September 1937. Retrieved 20 April 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  20. "Joyce Gardner". BFI. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  21. "Caption to photo of Joyce Gardner and Frankie Howard". Northern Whig. 11 October 1955. Retrieved 22 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  22. Williams, Joyce Winifred Frances. "England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995". Ancestry. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  23. "Women's Snooker Championship". The Times. No. 46690. 28 February 1934. p. 6.
  24. "Women's Snooker Champion". The Observer. 17 February 1935. p. 28.
  25. "Women's Snooker Title". The Observer. 2 May 1937. p. 37.
  26. "Women's Billiards Championship". Leeds Mercury. 23 February 1933. p. 9.
  27. "Women Professionals". The Scotsman. 23 February 1933. p. 15.
  28. "Billiards – Women's Professional Championship". The Times. No. 46997. 25 February 1935. p. 7.
  29. "Women's Championship". The Observer. 25 February 1935. p. 2.
  30. "World Billiards » Blog Archive » World Ladies Billiards Champions". www.world-billiards.com. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  31. "Women's Championship". The Times. No. 48305. 15 May 1939. p. 6.
  32. "A Really Grand Finale!". The Billiard Player. June 1948. p. 8.
  33. "Still Champion". Western Morning News. 13 June 1949. p. 6.
  34. "Thelma still champion". Dundee Courier. 23 June 1950. p. 5.
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