Gerald John Ryan (24 May 1887 – 6 February 1917) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League.
Family The second son of George Ryan (1857-1920),Obituary: Mr. George Ryan, The Horsham Times, (Friday, 20 February 1920), p. 5. and Bridget Ryan (1865-1946), née Carberry,Deaths: Ryan, The Age, (Wednesday, & August 1946), p. 10.Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria Deaths Registration no.8341/1946. Gerald Ryan was born at Horsham, Victoria on 24 May 1887.Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria Births Registration no.29057/1887.Note that every single official record (Birth, death, service, VFL, etc) and his family's death notices has "Gerald Ryan". It is only on a single occasion (his entry in the 1913 Electoral Roll, for the Horsham subdivision of the Division of Wannon) that has "Gerald John Ryan".
Military service He enlisted in the First AIF in September 1914, and served overseas with the 14th Battalion.
Death He died from a fractured skull; an injury he sustained from a fall on ice, whilst walking near the Tidworth Military Hospitalin Wiltshire, England, where he was convalescing from wounds he had received in action in France.Red Cross Report.Died on Service: Ryan, The Argus, (Thursday, 22 February 1917), p. 1.
He was buried with full military honours at Tidworth Camp Military Cemetery."Late Gerald Ryan: Parents Receive Tributes", The Horsham Times, (Friday, 22 June 1917), p. 6.Lance Sergeant Gerald Ryan (769), Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
See also List of Victorian Football League players who died on active service
Notes
Sources Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. Main, J. & Allen, D., "Ryan, Gerald", pp.169-171 in Main, J. & Allen, D., Fallen – The Ultimate Heroes: Footballers Who Never Returned From War, Crown Content, (Melbourne), 2002. Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. "The Essendon Team (vs. Collingwood on 5 June 1909: photograph)", The Weekly Times, (Saturday, 12 June 1909), p. 27: Ryan is at extreme left of bottom row. First World War Embarkation Roll: Private Gerald Ryan (769), collection of the Australian War Memorial. First World War Nominal Roll: Lance Sergeant Gerald Ryan (769), collection of the Australian War Memorial. First World War Service Record: Lance Sergeant Gerald Ryan (769), National Archives of Australia. Australian Red Cross Society Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau Files, 1914-18 War: 769 Lance Sergeant Gerald Ryan, 14th Battalion, collection of the Australian War Memorial. Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour: Lance Sergeant Gerald Ryan (769), Australian War Memorial.
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