After his fine summer during 1930, Frank suffered a loss of form in 1931 and frequently got rattled or lost his length when attacked by opposition batsmen. Despite some cajoling from Maurice, plus the odd fiver in his back pocket, there was a growing feeling that the 44 year-old was past his best. He had been less effective than before on the slow and sandy wickets at Swansea, largely in the view of some because he did not travel home to his wife in Cardiff, preferring instead to stay down in Swansea at the Cricketer`s Arms opposite the ground and drink away the night.
Having been one of his biggest allies, Maurice also became more than a bit embarrassed by Frank’s off-the-field antics, especially his rather wanton way of socializing after play. In one match in 1931 when Glamorgan were playing in Lancashire, Frank had remained after play, drinking with friends and meeting up with old acquaintances. In the wee small hours of the morning, he remembered that the Welsh county were playing that day in Swansea, so he hired a taxi and told the startled driver to take him to South Wales.
Later that morning, there were a few raised eyebrows in the Glamorgan dressing room about his absence ahead of the game, but just as Secretary Arthur Gibson was preparing to ring his home in Cardiff to find out if he was ill, Frank`s taxi arrived at the ground. The spinner told the driver to settle the bill with the rather red-faced official before strolling into the dressing room saying “Ryan never lets you down!”
Privately, Maurice was deeply upset at Frank’s behaviour, believing that he had betrayed his kindness and tolerence of his occasional binges and now had frittered away vital and much needed cash. In public and the committee room, Maurice wouyld not have a word said against Frank’s bowling, and he had spoken up many times on Frank`s behalf. But the dire financial situation during the winter of 1931/32 meant that the wage bill would have to be cut, and Frank was one of several professionals who were told they would not be offered a new contract. Hoping that the financial situation might improve, or that the Club would have a change of heart, Frank remained with his wife in their home in Cardiff until the Spring of 1932, by which time it was clear there was no chance of a contract with the Welsh county and he agreed terms with Barnsley to play in the Yorkshire Leagues.
He continued to play in League cricket in Lancashire and Yorkshire for several summers, before moving to Blean in Kent where he worked as a Civil Service clerk in the RAC record office. During the Second World War he joined the Army once again and worked as a payroll clerk, besides moving to live in the East Midlands. Indeed, it was from his new home in Severn Street, Leicester that he wrote a letter in August 1944 in which he extolled, as follows the virtues of Maurice Turnbull, following the Glamorgan captain’s death in Normandy a couple of months after Operation Overlord:
“It had been an honour and a pleasure to me to have played under many grand captains, bit I unhesitatingly place Maurice Turnbull as not only the best under whom I have played but an outstanding captain in the history of the game. His tolerance and restraint under trying circumstances, his deep knowledge of the game, his intuition and far-sightedness remain indelibly imprinted in my memory.”
Indeed, it was this more gentle and genial side of Frank’s character that many outside the inner circle of Glamorgan players have forgotten, with many commentators at the time dwelling instead on his gregariousness and fondness for socializing. It would be wrong to consider him as a drunken oaf or alcoholic – more a charming and charismatic gentleman who enjoyed the company of others, and someone who got, often unwittingly, into a series of scrapes. Had it not been for these, his contemporaries believe that Frank would have won a Test cap or regularly gone on winter tours with the MCC. Frank died of TB at his home in Leicester in January 1954.
Opposite – Frank, seen towards the end of his playing career. Photo Credit – Glamorgan Cricket Archives.
In December 2005 Frank was posthumously inducted into the Glamorgan Hall of Fame (#28).
RYAN, Francis Peter
Born – Tundla, India, 14th November 1888.
Died – Highfields, Leicester, 5th January 1954.
Best performances for Glamorgan:
In first-class cricket – 46 v Northamptonshire at Northampton, 1925; 8/41 v Derbyshire at Cardiff Arms Park, 1925.
| M | I | NO | RUNS | AV | 100 | 50 | CT | ST | |
| First-class | 215 | 312 | 100 | 1699 | 8.01 | – | – | 78 | – |
| Balls | M | R | W | AV | 5wI | 10wM | |
| First-class | 39485 | 1323 | 19053 | 913 | 20.86 | 79 | 17 |