Godfrey Bryan
Brigadier Godfrey James Bryan CBE (29 December 1902 – 24 March 1991) was an English army officer and cricketer. A left-handed batsman, he played first-class cricket between 1920 and 1935 for Kent County Cricket Club and the Army cricket team.[1] His brothers Jack and Ronnie also played for Kent, though Godfrey was considered as "possibly the most talented" of the three.[2]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Godfrey James Bryan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 29 December 1902 Beckenham, Kent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 24 March 1991 (aged 88) Canterbury, Kent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Left-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm medium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Batsman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Jack Bryan (brother) Ronnie Bryan (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1920–1933 | Kent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1923–1951 | Army | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1924 | Combined Services | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First-class debut | 30 August 1920 Kent v Nottinghamshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last First-class | 1 June 1935 Army v Cambridge University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricInfo, 16 December 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bryan rose to the rank of brigadier in the British Army, serving with the Royal Engineers. He served during World War II and was stationed in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency.[3]
Early life
Bryan was born in Beckenham in Kent, the son of Lindsay and Emily Bryan. His father was a solicitor.[4] Bryan showed an early talent for cricket when playing at Wellington College. After making a string of centuries for the school XI he was referred to by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack as the public school batsman of the year who "did wonders in school matches"[5][2] He made his first-class cricket debut for Kent County Cricket Club in a County Championship match against Nottinghamshire later in the same season, aged just 17, making an immediate impact by scoring a maiden first-class century in the match.[2][6][5]
Cricket career
Bryan attending the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich between 1921 and 1922, playing cricket in both years against Sandhurst.[7] The academy was in Kent and Bryan became a regular member of the Kent county team during the 1921 season, playing nine County Championship matches as well as a match against the touring Australians. His top score of the year was 179 against Hampshire, adding 208 runs in only two hours with Lionel Hedges.[2] He played 13 times for Kent the following year, after which his Army career meant that his availability for county cricket was limited.[6][8]
In 1922 Bryan made his first appearance for the Royal Engineers Cricket Club in the annual Sappers vs Gunners match against the Royal Artillery.[7] Bryan also made his debut for the British Army cricket team in the same year and played four times for Kent.[6] The Army cricket team had first-class cricket status during the inter-war period and Bryan was able to play for both the Army and a few times for Kent in most years until the end of the 1929 season.[6] He continued to play for the Army side and the Royal Engineers until 1951, taking part in 14 Gunners vs Sappers matches.
Bryan made only three first-class appearances after 1929, playing his final match for Kent in 1933 against Derbyshire and his final first-classapperance in 1935 for the Army against Cambridge University.[6] He played in a total of 70 first-class matches, scoring 3,192 runs[2] and in club cricket played for Beckenham Cricket Club.[9] In 1925 he played alongside both of his brothers for Kent against Lancashire, the only time all three played in the same team.[10]
Military career
After attending Royal Military Academy, Woolwich in 1921 and 1922, Bryan joined the Royal Engineers. In the early years of the 1930s he was stationed in the Far East, where he played cricket for the Straits Settlements, United Services and Malaya Command between 1930 and 1932. He was stationed again in Malaya during the late 1930s and played for Malaya and Straits Settlements.[7]
He rose to the rank of Brigadier and was stationed in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency.[3]
Family and later life
Two of his brothers, Jack and Ronnie, also played first-class cricket for Kent. Bryan died at Canterbury in 1991 aged 88.[2]
References
- Godfrey Bryan, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
- Bryan, Godfrey James, Obituaries in 1991, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1992. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
- Seventh Supplement to the London Gazette, London Gazette, 26 May 1953. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
- Lewis P (2014) For Kent and Country, pp. 122–123. Brighton: Reveille Press.
- Pardon S (1921) Dismal failure of the crusade against cricket, 1921, Notes by the Editor, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1921. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
- First-class matches played by Godfrey Bryan, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
- Miscellaneous matches played by Godfrey Bryan, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
- Carlaw D (2020) Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part Two: 1919–1939, pp. 22–23. (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2020-07-01.)
- Our history, Beckenham Cricket Club. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
- Lewis op. cit. pp. 123–127.