Carpenter was born in August 1887, to English parents,[a] at Newport, Wales, and later lived in Cardiff.

[1] He won the Welsh professional billiards title in 1913, beating Arthur Llewellin by 4,084 points in a match of 9,000-up.

[3][4] Carpenter reached the semi-final of the inaugural professional World Snooker Championship in 1927.

[5] In January 1922 at Cardiff, Carpenter played Joe Davis in a 7,000-up game of billiards.

[1][6] He coached Thelma Carpenter (no relation), who won multiple billiards titles.