The King Witnesses One-Arm Billiards
One-arm Expert Plays before the King and Queen and tells the Story of it to the Billiard Player
Mr. Arthur Goundrill (late Sergeant 16th Lancers), a one-armed billiard player, who lost his arm in the war, had the honour of giving an exhibition before the King and Queen this evening.—COURT CIRCULAR, Wednesday, May 4. Arthur Leslie Goundrill, an "Old Contemptible," lost his left arm in one of the battles around Ypres.
On his discharge from the Army he practised billiards so assiduously and successfully that he was soon in a position to accept professional engagements in clubs and institutes, and has given entertainments in all parts of the country. In pre-war days he was a frequent competitor in the Army Billiards Championship, and it speaks volumes for his spirit and courage that he should now prove a better exponent with one arm than he formerly was with two. Goundrill has a good many hundred breaks to his credit, and his repertoire of trick and fancy shots is not excelled by professionals with no physical handicap. As a raconteur, too, he is practically without a rival in the billiards profession, and, combining this quality with his show of billiards, he has made good wherever he has entertained. He is a native of Northampton. The appended account of his experiences at Buckingham Palace was written by himself specially for The Billiard Player:— "I was naturally overjoyed when the ' command ' arrived; it was like the fulfilment of an impossible dream. I was in the beautiful billiard room at Buckingham Palace about fifteen minutes before the appointed time, and in and out and all around me were the members of His Majesty's household, to whom, in turn, I was introduced. They were very nice, and chatted to me in a quiet, easy way, evidently trying to set me at ease.
"As the time for their Majesties' entrance drew near I must admit that I grew nervous. I was speculating as to whether I should play badly and so spoil the greatest chance that I had had in my life. But when the King and Queen entered and I found my hand being shaken by that of the King, almost before the Master of the Household (the Hon. Sir Derek Keppel) had finished saying 'This, your Majesty, is Mr. Goundrill,' my nervousness vanished as if my magic."
"I then bowed and was introduced to the Queen, who shook my hand warmly whilst expressing herself as pleased to see me. What was the reason of this returned confidence, so sadly lacking a few moments before? I can only account for it by the kindly and natural way in which their Majesties greeted me. No fuss, no formality, but just a nice easy charm which seemed to cast its spell over me and put me entirely at my ease."
"When I am playing my ordinary exhibition up and down the country I am invariably a trifle nervous during the first few shots, which is the more pronounced, of course, as I have only one hand, but I can honestly say that never have I played with more confidence than I did before their Majesties."
"My most difficult trick shots, especially the massee strokes, so susceptible to miscues, I obtained with the greatest ease. If I surprised their Majesties and those present, I think that I also surprised myself."
"At the conclusion praise was kindly lavished upon me, and I have had no prouder moment in my life than when His Majesty generously said: 'You have given us a wonderful show.'
"I am afraid that my pen is inadequate to the task that I have set myself in writing this article, but readers of The Billiard Player will readily understand that a billiard professional is not necessarily a skilled writer also. At least I trust that the honour that has been conferred on me will be of some use to the beautiful game of billiards, of which I am the devoted slave.
"May I close by assuring your readers that in its King this nation has no mere figure-head, but one who has the varied interests of his subjects at heart, and who is also a thorough sportsman."