Herbert Beetham

James Herbert Beetham (1909 – April 1992) was an English billiards player and soft drink manufacturer. He won the 1960 World Amateur Billiards Championship which also marked the pinnacle of his career. Beetham was regarded as one of the three main pillars of English amateur billiards alongside Frank Edwards and Leslie Driffield.

Personal life He was married to Florence Maud Beetham until her death in December 1975 and he had a son Philip and daughter Sheila.

Biography His father James Henry and mother Mary Jane Beetham ran family business which was into manufacturing and selling mineral water. His family moved to Normanton where he spent most of his life. His birthplace, 80 Havelock Road was eventually the factory house of White Brothers family business. None of his family members were involved in any sport, but his father James Henry had developed a profound interest in the game of billiards.

Career Beetham ran the family business White Brothers mineral water manufacturing company in Derby taking over from his parents and also became a prominent successful businessman. Despite being a full-time businessman, he pursued his interest of playing billiards mostly considering it as a time pass and hobby. In one of the interviews, he insisted that billiards was always his hobby and never considered it as a his job. He also pointed out that if he had considered billiards as a profession he should have spent huge amount of pounds to play in club level.

He started playing billiards at St. Thomas's Church Institute in the Derby Institute League until 1960 before it was disbanded. He later joined the Walbrook Institute to continue his passion towards playing billiards. He was set to take part at the 1942 English Amateur Billiards Championship but the tournament was called off due to World War II and he was sent back home. He joined the Burton Fire Brigade in 1942 temporarily and served as a firefighter. He was notably one of the firefighters who arrived at the scene early during the RAF Fauld explosion which happened on 27 November 1944 at the RAF Fauld underground munitions storage depot in Staffordshire. He also lost the 1959 English Amateur Billiards Championship final, which was his fourth defeat in as many finals.

After being at the receiving end in four English Amateur Billiards Championship finals, Beetham finally broke the shackles by winning his maiden English Amateur Billiards Championship title in 1960 following a comfortable victory over Reg Wright in the final. He also won the English Amateur Billiards Championship titles in 1961 and 1962, making it as Hat-trick of titles in English Amateur Championship. He was regarded as a prominent billiards player during the post World War years.

Death Beetham died in April 1992 due to cancer at the age of 82 in Derby.