Lives in Cricket No 22 - Jack Mercer

87 Letters also went to the other professionals saying that they would receive modified terms for 1932, and if any wished to accept other engagements, ‘the club do not wish to stand in your way’. Some critics wondered if Glamorgan would drop out of the Championship and the portents were not good when, to save money, Bell and Ryan were not chosen for the final game of the season at Swansea. 86 Naturally, the mood in the professionals’ changing-room was very depressed, with the younger players wondering whether to seek lucrative deals with Welsh clubs or to sound out other English counties. But other counties were also in the mire, with Surrey announcing a few weeks later that six of their professionals were also being released. They were dark days indeed for the younger professionals in the Glamorgan changing-room, but Jack helped to smooth ruffled feathers and, after speaking with Turnbull, all accepted the reduced terms for 1932 in the hope that Glamorgan would enjoy better fortune. Jack, sadly, also had other things on his mind in 1932 as his marriage to Santa came to an end. As Jack’s cricket career had taken off, the pair had steadily grown apart. In direct contrast, Jack’s brother Frank had wooed and married Santa’s youngest sister, Vera Constance Green. After Frank completed his qualification as a gas fitter, they got married in 1931. Both Jack and Santa attended the wedding, but it was the last major family event at which they appeared together as within a year they had separated. 87 Perhaps Jack’s complex personality, his constant travelling and Santa’s bohemian lifestyle in her youth were all contributing factors. She remained for a while at their home at Shoreham Beach before moving a few miles away, but she never remarried. Jack was naturally saddened by the whole thing – for years he never spoke about the matter – but a winter, coaching abroad, helped him recover and he returned afresh the following spring ready to start a new chapter in his personal life as a single man again. Senior professional 86 Bates and Ryan remained in South Wales in the hope that the club might change its mind should the financial situation improve. Bates stayed in Cardiff until May 1932 in the hope that he might be able to secure a match contract and play a handful of games. No offer was forthcoming so he secured a position with the Neston club in Cheshire. Ryan was taken on by Neath C.C. for 1932. 87 There is no record of any later divorce proceedings in the National Archives, but about one-fifth of such documentation is missing. Santa died of cancer of the colon in a hospice in Brighton in December 1952, aged 56.