Snooker was invented on a wet afternoon
The Billiard Player, April 1939
Snooker was invented on a wet afternoon
Origin of a Great Game
——————-By Compton Mackenzie————————–
Here, for the first time, is the fully authenticated story of the origin of Snooker.
It is presented by one of the most brilliant writers of our time, Mr. Compton Mackenzie.
This historic article, which could never have been written without the co-operation of Colonel Sir Neville Chamberlain, is proudly published by us at a time when the game itself is being played in Great Britain by more people than is any other sport or game.
Last year an article in “The Field” put forward the theory that the game of Snooker had its origin at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, where officers of the Royal Artillery and the Royal Engineers receive their training as cadets.
The theory was plausible, because a first-year cadet at “The Shop,” as the R.M.A. is familiarly known, is called a “Snooker,” the soubriquet being time’s corruption of the original word for a newly-joined cadet, which was “Neux.” It must be remembered that the R.M.A. was founded as long ago as 1741.
The writer of the article stated that the original rules of Snooker were copied cut by Lord Kitchener from those at “The Shop,” brought by him co Ootacamund, and there hung up in the Club.
This assertion was formally contradicted by General Sir Ian Hamilton in a letter to “The Field” of July 11th, 1938. In point of fact Lord Kitchener never visited India until many years after Snooker had become a popular game out there.
Investigation has established that, so far from Snooker’s having originated at “The Shop,” the game was Invented at Jubbulpore in the year 1875 by Colonel Sir Neville Chamberlain, who is fortunately still with us and whose memory is perfectly dear on the subject.
On a wet afternoon . . .
It befell during the “Rains” that Sir Neville, then a young subaltern in the Devonshire Regiment, anxious to vary the game of Black Pool which was being played every long wet afternoon on the Mess billiard table, suggested potting down another coloured ball, to which others of different values were gradually added.
One day a subaltern of the Field Battery at Jubbulpore was being entertained by the Devons, and tn the course of conversation told young Chamberlain about the soubriquet “Snooker” for first year cadets at Woolwich. To quote Sir Neville’s own words:
“The term was a new one to me, but I soon had an opportunity of exploiting it when one of our party failed to hole a coloured ball which was close to a corner pocket. I called out to him: “Why, you’re a regular snooker!”
“I had to explain to the company the definition of the word, and, to soothe the feelings of the culprit, I added that we were all, so to speak, snookers it the game, so it would be very appropriate to call the game snooker. The suggestion was adopted with enthusiasm and the game his beets called Snooker ever since.”
Potted himself
In 1876 Sir Neville Chamberlain left the Devons to join the Central India Horse, taking with him the new game. A year or two later came the Afghan War, a more serious potting game in which young Chamberlain was himself potted.
However, fortunately for himself and the great game which we enjoy so much to-day, be recovered from hit wound, and when at the close of 1881 General Sir Frederick Roberts became Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army, the inventor of Snooker served on his personal staff, and was with Roberts when every summer he moved to the hill station at Ootacamund known to all and sundry as “Ooty.”
There came officers from big garrisons like Bangalore and Secundderabad and planters from Mysore All of them enjoyed Snooker as a speciality of the “Ooty” Club where the rules of the game were drawn up and posted in the billiards room, but not by lord Kitchener.
During the eighties rumours of the new game in India reached England. One evening Sir Neville Chamberlain when dining in Calcutta with the Maharaja of Cooch Behar was introduced to a well-known professional billiards payer whom he had engaged from England for some lessons.
This professional told the Maharaja he had been asked in England to obtain the rules of the new game Snooker and the Maharaja introduced Sir Neville Chamberlain to him as the best person to give him the information be wanted because he was the inventor of it.
In a letter to “The Field” of March 19th, 1938, Sir Neville regretted he did not know the name of the professional but thought he was probably a contemporary of John Roberts and W. Cook. A week or two later Mr. F. H. Cumberlege wrote to Sir Neville Chamberlain to say that the professional must have been John Roberts himself who came out to Calcutta in 1885. Mr. Cumberlege added, that he remembered showing the Maharaja the new game of Snooker at Cooch Behar after a shooting party in the spring of 1884.
Famous people remember
Sir Neville Chamberlain hat received from several other distinguished authorities’ confirmation of his claim to be the inventor of Snooker. Major-General W. A Watson, Colonel of the Central India Horse (his old regiment) wrote:
“I have a clear recollection of you re-joining the regiment in 1884. You brought with you a brand-new game, which you called Snooker or Snookers. There were the black, the pink, the yellow and the green. We all understood it was your own invention. We tock to it very keenly.”
Major General Sir John Hanbury Williams (Colonel of the 43rd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry) wrote:
“I was always under the impression that you introduced the game of Snooker to the 43rd in 1884-5. Certainly the 43rd never played Snooker till you came and introduced it to us. Hope you will stick to the honour of its invention”
Field Marshal Lord Birdwood wrote:
“I remember well your introducing the game of Snookers into the 12th Lancers Mess, when I was a subaltern in the Regiment at Bangalore in 85.”
Complete
Sir Walter Lawrence, Bt., wrote:
“When we first met in Simla in 1886, when you were with Lord Roberts, the Commander-in-Chief, and afterwards when we served together in Kashmir, I always looked upon you at the inventor of Snooker, and I know that this idea was common to many of my friends. Quite recently, last year (1937) I was telling some of my friends in England who were discussing Snooker, that I had the honour of knowing very intimately the inventor of the game”
The testimony of these and other highly distinguished officers finally disposes of the theory advanced with some emphasis by the writer in “The Field” that the game of Snooker originated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and it has been a privilege for me to assemble in print such incontrovertible evidence.
There is nothing to add except that all the many thousands of Snooker players the world over will with Colonel Sir Neville Chamberlain, who is now in his 84th year, many another year to enjoy the honour of being the inventor of a game, now 63 years old, which has added so much to the gaiety of nations.
My only regret is that he has not seen Joe Davis play it. He would feel still prouder of having invented a medium for such grace and accuracy of human accomplishment
COMPTON MACKENZIE