Lawn bowls at the 1930 British Empire Games
| Lawn bowls at the 1930 British Empire Games | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Roselawn Bowling Club, Gage Park |
| Location | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
| Dates | 16 to 23 August 1930 |
Lawn bowls at the 1930 British Empire Games was the first appearance of the Lawn bowls at the Commonwealth Games. The events were held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, from 16 to 23 August 1930 and featured three disciplines.[1]
Competition featured three events for men: a singles, pairs, and a rinks (fours) contest.[2][3][4] The event was held at the Roselawn Bowling Club, within Gage Park.[5]
England topped the medal table by winning all three gold medals.[6]
Medal table
* Host nation (Canada)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | Canada* | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| New Zealand | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 4 | South Africa | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Scotland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (5 entries) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | |
Medal summary
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singles | Robert Colquhoun | James Thoms | William Fielding |
| Pairs | Tommy Hills and George Wright |
William Fielding and Peter McWhannell |
Wilt Moore and Arthur Reid |
| Rinks/fours | England Ernie Gudgeon James Edney James Frith Albert Hough |
Canada Harry Allen Jimmy Campbell Mitch Thomas Billy Rae |
Scotland David Fraser John Orr Tom Chambers (*) William Campbell |
Notes
(*) Tom Chambers was a Canadian. One of the original Scottish team members (Mr John Kennedy) had died suddenly while visiting friends in Buffalo, New York, on the journey to Canada.[7] The other teams agreed that Chambers could be used as a substitute even though he was not Scottish.[8]
Men's singles – round robin
Results
| Player 1 | Player 2 | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Colquhoun | Reid | 21–20 |
| Colquhoun | Fielding | 21–19 |
| Colquhoun | Thoms | 21–12 |
| Thoms | Reid | 21–7 |
| Thoms | Fielding | 21–15 |
| Fielding | Reid | 21–20 |
| Pos | Player | P | W | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Colquhoun | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | James Thoms | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | William Fielding | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Arthur Reid | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Men's pairs – round robin
Results
| Player 1 | Player 2 | Score |
|---|---|---|
| England | South Africa | 36–8 |
| England | New Zealand | 20–13 |
| England | Canada | 17–14 |
| New Zealand | Canada | 19–16 |
| New Zealand | South Africa | 21–13 |
| Canada | South Africa | 24–10 |
| Pos | Player | P | W | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tommy Hills & George Wright | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | William Fielding & Peter McWhannell | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Wilt Moore & Arthur Reid | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Edmund Hall & Constantine Giovanetti | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Men's rinks (fours) – round robin
Results
| Player 1 | Player 2 | Score |
|---|---|---|
| England | South Africa | 22–20 |
| England | New Zealand | 29–9 |
| England | Canada | 19–27 |
| England | Scotland | 19–16 |
| New Zealand | South Africa | 18–19 |
| New Zealand | Canada | 27–20 |
| New Zealand | Scotland | 11–20 |
| Canada | South Africa | 29–14 |
| Canada | Scotland | 19–21 |
| South Africa | Scotland | SA |
| Pos | Player | P | W | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ernie Gudgeon, James Edney, James Frith, Albert Hough | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | Harry Allen, Jimmy Campbell, Mitch Thomas, Billy Rae | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | David Fraser, John Orr, Tom Chambers(*), William Campbell | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | John Armstrong, J N Brooks, John Southern, E H Walters | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 5 | William Fielding, Peter McWhannell, Edward Leach, Harold Frost | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
References
- ^ "Medal Standings Hamilton 1930". Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
- ^ ""Bowls." Times, 30 June 1930, p. 7". The Times. Times Digital Archives. 30 June 1930. p. 7.
- ^ Bolsover, Godfrey (1959). Who's Who and Encyclopaedia of Bowls. Rowland Publishers Ltd (Pre isbn).
- ^ Hawkes/Lindley, Ken/Gerard (1974). the Encyclopaedia of Bowls. Robert Hale and Company. ISBN 0-7091-3658-7.
- ^ "History". Roselawn Bowling Club. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ "Commonwealth Games Medallists - Bowls". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
- ^ "Notes by Toucher". Coatbridge Leader. 16 August 1930. p. 3. Retrieved 6 May 2021 – via The British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "George W. Ferguson and Scotland's 1930 British Empire Games Team". Sports Heritage. 28 May 2014.