beat Joyce Gardner 1000-960 at Hull in September 1928 in a match billed as the British Championship. Billiard manufacturers Howard and Powell provided a silver rose bowl for the winner. This match is omitted from records in the handbooks of the Billiards and Snooker Control Council. Lennan did not take part in the tournament established in 1930, until the 1935 championship. In 1930, the cue sports company Burroughes and Watts organised the British Women's Billiards Championship, also known as the Burwat Billiards Cup. The following year, 1931, the Women's Billiards Association was formed, and it was agreed that the Association would take over the running of the competition as a world championship, with the same trophy used in 1930. Joyce Gardner was champion each year until 1934, when Ruth Harrison won the first of her three titles. 1934 saw the first century break in the competition, a 100 by Gardner. Margaret Lennan made two centuries, 113 and then 153 in the 1936 competition. Ruth Harrison's break of 197 in 1937 remains a women's record in competitive billiards. Thelma Carpenter won her first title in 1940, and was champion again when the tournament was next held in 1948. In 1950, she was watched by her 10-year-old son as she beat Joyce Gardner to win her fourth title. This was to be the last women's professional championship to be held to date, effectively making Carpenter the professional champion from 1940 to the present day. Although the tournament was billed as a "World Championship," no players from outside the United Kingdom participated. The World Women's Billiards Championship is viewed as a continuation of the Amateur championship rather than of the Women's Professional Billiards Championship.
Finals
Statistics by player
Rank
Name
Nationality
Winner
1
7
6
2
4
1
3
3
4
4
0
2
5
0
1
Tournament Details
British Women's Billiards Tournament (1930)
Sources: The Scotsman, 1 April 1930; Sheffield Independent, 2 April 1930; The Billiard Player, May and August 1930. There were four entrants. Semi-finals
Joyce Gardner 750–259 Mrs Watts
Eva Collins 750–422 Muriel Barber
Final: Joyce Gardner 1,500–727 Eva Collins. Gardner made a break of 96.
Final: Joyce Gardner 2,000–1,185 Eva Collins. Lady Wedgewood presented the winner's cup to Gardner.
1932 Championship
Source:The Billiard Player, March 1932. There were four entrants. The highest break was 83 by Joyce Gardner, in the final. Semi-finals
Ruth Harrison 1,000-563 Eva Collins
Joyce Gardner 1,000-356 Muriel Barber
Final: Joyce Gardner 2,000–1,713 Ruth Harrison
1933 Championship
Sources: Lancashire Evening Post, 15 February 1933; The Scotsman, 23 February 1933. There were three entrants. Semi-finals
Ruth Harrison bye.
Joyce Gardner 1,000-582 Eva Collins
Final: Joyce Gardner 2,000–1,306 Ruth Harrison
1934 Championship
Sources: Shields Daily News, 6 February 1934; Leeds Mercury, 22 February 1934; The Scotsman, 23 February 1934. There were four entrants.Joyce Gardner made a break of 100, a record for the championship. Semi-finals
Joyce Gardner 1,000-303 Irene Armes
Ruth Harrison 1,000-523 Eva Collins
Final: Ruth Harrison 2,000–1,608 Joyce Gardner
February 1935 Championship
Source: Billiards and Snooker, March 1935. There were five entrants. Preliminary Round: Thelma Carpenter 1,000-699 Eva Collins Semi-finals
Ruth Harrison 1,500–790 Margaret Lennan
Joyce Gardner 1,500–1,054 Thelma Carpenter
Final: Ruth Harrison 3,000–2,708 Joyce Gardner. Harrison made two breaks of 101, the highest of the competition, and also a 99, during the final. Gardner's average score of 18.5 against Carpenter was a new Championship record.
November 1935 Championship
Sources: The Scotsman, 2 November 1935; Coatbridge Express, 6 November 1935; Aberdeen Press and Journal, 6 November 1935; Sheffield Independent, 7 November 1935. There were five entrants. First round: Margaret Lennan 1,000-466 Eva Collins Semi-finals
Margaret Lennan 1,500–1,098 Ruth Harrison
Joyce Gardner 1,500–1,149 Thelma Carpenter
Final: Joyce Gardner 3,000–2,872 Margaret Lennan
1937 Championship
Source: Billiards and Snooker, June 1937. There were five entrants. Heat 1: Ruth Harrison 1,178–469 Eva Collins Semi-finals
Joyce Gardner 1,633–1,338 Thelma Carpenter
Ruth Harrison 2,166–1,132 Margaret Lennan. Harrison made breaks of 197, 126, and 110.
Final: Joyce Gardner 2,223–2,204 Ruth Harrison. Gardner made a break of 154.
Source: The Billiard Player, June 1948. There were three entrants. Semi-final: Joyce Gardner 1,256–1,037 Ruth Harrison Final: Thelma Carpenter 2659-1670 Joyce Gardner Carpenter averaged 11.92 to Gardner's 7.92 in the final, and made the highest break of the tournament, 90.
1949 Championship
Source: The Billiard Player, July 1949. Final: Thelma Carpenter 3,120–2,528 Joyce Gardner
Highest break: Joyce Gardner, 73.
1950 Championship
Sources: Birmingham Daily Gazette, 20 June 1950; Dundee Courier, 21 June 1950; Dundee Courier, 23 June 1950. There were only two entrants. Final: Thelma Carpenter 1,978–1,374 Joyce Gardner
