Upon my return home from England in 1951 Walter Lindrum phoned to congratulate me on finishing third in the World Championship that year. He suggested that I take a break of three months from the game and I took his advice. When I resumed playing I noted that my form was better than ever. I found that consistently I was making breaks of 300 and 400 - and even an occasional 500. At the time I was employed by Mr Charles Allen, a leading snooker bookmaker and a member of the Victorian Club in Melbourne. I practiced mainly at that club and two of its members, Darcy Eccles and Bill Bailey, both great players, took a keen interest in me. Both saw to it that I worked hard, and it was nothing for me to practice four to five hours a day.
In 1954 I ran up breaks of 684 and 735 - two of my highest breaks - which were made mostly at the top of the table, with a few runs of nursery cannons. It was at this stage that I asked Walter Lindrum for some hints on these close cannons. I felt that if I were to become proficient at nursery cannons a break of 1000 would not be beyond me. Walter promised to help, but unfortunately, and to my bitter disappointment, he never came to the party. On three occasions he invited me to his home at Albert Park, but each time he put me off, making the excuse that he was too busy. To be quite fair to the "master", I really do not think he could impart to others his knowledge of the mysteries of nursery cannons, or for that matter any other phase of the game. He was a supreme player and so far ahead of others in the game of billiards that I am afraid he did not know where to commence teaching, but I am sure he would have liked to help me.
I do not know of any other player who was helped directly by Walter. In latter years Jim Long was very friendly with him, and I know that Walter showed him a couple of comparatively simple moves. Many people may disagree with me on this point and I ask them to forgive me for expressing my personal opinion on a small aspect of the make-up and personality of the greatest billiard player the world has ever known.
The World Amateur Championship series for 1954 were staged in Sydney. Shortly before these games were to commence Bob Marshall had defeated me for the Australian Title in Launceston in a very tight game. For three sessions we were almost dead level, but in the last two hours Bob was too good for me and ran out the winner by the comparatively narrow margin of 202 points. The World Championship was to be contested in Sydney in the following month and Bob was automatically selected to represent Australia. Chandra Hirjee had also been selected to compete in this event as second string to Wilson Jones, representing India. However, Hirjee was unable to make the trip at the last moment and I was invited to compete in his stead.
The games were staged in the Anthony Horden Pavilion at the Sydney Showgrounds and were played on Walter Lindrum's table. This was good news for me as I was aware that the cushions were fitted with strip rubber and I had learned the game on tables fitted with that type of cushion. This news filled me with confidence. The competitors for the Title included Bob Marshall (Australia), Frank Edwards (England), Wilson Jones (India), and Taffy Rees (South Africa). My first opponent was Frank Edwards. I immediately got away with a break of 156, but Frank countered with a 127. Then I managed 216, followed by 287. I was in my element with the soft strip rubber cushions, and at the end of the first session was leading by 457. On the home run I ran out a winner by 760 points. To dispose of such a fine player a Edwards was a great start for me.
The great Bob Marshall was my next opponent. I was quietly fancied in this match as I had been performing well at practice. The bookmakers were wagering rather heavily on this game. Bob commenced in great form and at the half way mark led by 261. The position looked bad for me, but I was still confident. In the second session I really struck form. At the commencement of this session I was in play with 56 unfinished, which I took to 286. A little later I followed with a 267, then a 367. Eventually I won the match by 605 points.
At this stage I had defeated two great exponents of the game and naturally I was in high spirits. However, I could not afford to be overconfident as I still had to meet Rees and Jones. In my match against Rees I made the best break of my career in championship billiards by compiling 682, which still stands as the highest break made in an Amateur World Championship series. In this match I was an easy winner.
To win the Title I then had to face Wilson Jones. Naturally I was a little nervous, particularly as Jones had nothing to lose. He had won only one match in the series and therefore was under no strain. After the first hour of play he led by 250. I said to myself, "don't panic, but play billiards". This I proceeded to do with breaks of 186, 240 and 299, as well as sundry breaks just over 100. The result of the match was in my favour, 1810 to 1498. Although a great player, Wilson Jones could not strike form in Australia. He visited Australia on three occasions, but never once did he play really well. Change in climatic conditions appear to affect the performance of many players.
I was greatly relieved and, of course, excited when that match was over. I had won my first and only World Championship. It was the highlight of my billiards career. I was 44 years of age at the time and felt that my success was the result of years of hard and earnest practice, as well as keeping myself fit and retaining good health over the years. The other competitors in that Championship Series were all about the same age as myself, which perhaps proves that it takes a good part of a lifetime to reach the top in billiards. Therefore I stress to young and promising players that they cannot expect to master the wonderful game in five minutes - or even ten years! It took many years for the greatest snooker player of all time - Joe Davis - to make the highest possible break of 147 at snooker in championship games. This occurred on the evening of his retirement in a match against John Pulman at Leicester Hall, London. Afterwards Joe remarked, "Fancy! I have been playing snooker all my life and no one knows how much work I have put in behind the scenes. It has taken me all this time to achieve the almost impossible in a championship match. It is like the tip of a cue - at its best when it is finished".