© 2007 - Gordon Radford

The Cue Collector - The Guide Dogs Cue

This is an example of a Guide Dogs Cue.  It has an ebony butt with a paduke front splice.  This example is hand spliced with a hornbeam shaft.

These cues were released after the Second World War, in the late 1940s and 1950s  as part of fundraising for The Guide Dogs for the Blind.   The aim was to raise funds for soldiers who had lost their sight during the Second World War.

As part of the fund-raising efforts, a group of professional players participated in exhibition matches and tournaments around the United Kingdom.  They included Joe Davis, Fred Davis, Horace Lindrum, Sidney Smith, Herbert Holt, Sydney Lee and Walter Donaldson.

The example shown in the photograph is signed on the shaft by all of these players, with the exception of Donaldson.

The cue was made by Peradon & Co.

circa 1940-1950