Times would be hard for Gertrude Whitcombe, Frank's mother, but she was a resourceful woman, for income the family firstly had her brother and Samuel & Emily Leonard as lodgers.

Then after a period of unemployment on 17 January 1931 Whitcombe enlisted as a Sapper (number 1869154) in 38th Field Company, Royal Engineers as a motor driver.

Then on the losing side 3–6 to the Royal Air Force on 23 March at Twickenham in a game dominated by the RAF standoff Gus Walker, making the Inter-Services title of 1935 a Triple Tie.

Prior to turning professional, Whitcombe played at Twickenham in the final of the Middlesex Sevens on Saturday 27 April 1935 for London Welsh losing 3–10 to Harlequins.

On the Wales side that day playing at Stand off was a teenager from Swansea still attending Gowerton county school, one W T H "Willie" Davies, a future Lance Todd trophy winner and teammate of Whitcombe's at Bradford Northern and Great Britain.

A quirk of fate here is Arthur Childs also played in the rest team with Whitcombe, a back row forward from Abertillery who also turned professional with the Halifax club.

Despite the efforts of his brother George to persuade him otherwise, an earlier offer, in March 1935 from the Wigan Rugby League Club was turned down by Whitcombe.

Of his signing fee, £90 was to buy him out of the Army, leaving him £10 to start a new life at 5 Cawdor Road, Fallowfield, a suburb of Manchester, with his young family.

Extract from Bradford Northern 1948 Challenge Cup Final brochure: Genial giant Frank is the wit as well as the heavy-weight of the team.

Shortly before Great Britain centre Jack Kitching was sent off, Whitcombe 'King Hit' his opposite Aussie prop Frank 'Bumper' Farrell.

When an unfortunate St. John Ambulance man ran on to administer the Australian forward with smelling salts to bring him round a still groggy Farrell lashed out at him mistaking him for Whitcombe.

Club official Jack Moggridge offered Whitcombe a two-year contract at £600 per season as player-coach plus costs of transport and a lucrative job (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £59,340 in 2016).

The Great Britain team left New Zealand aboard the RMS Rangitikei on 14 August arriving in Tilbury on 22 September at 10pm, four days late.

The Australian government made a personal plea to the British parliament to enable the tour to go ahead, as it wanted to lift the morale of its people, struggling to come to terms with the tragedy of the war.

At that time Royal Navy vessels were the only way to travel, but the team managed to secure berths and made the trip aboard the aircraft carrier, the touring party stoked the boilers to keep fit on board HMS Indomitable, from where the nickname came.

The ship was instructed to leave the Great Britain party in Perth and then divert to Singapore to collect injured prisoners who had been incarcerated in Changi jail during the Japanese occupation.

Much to our amusement the great character, Frank Whitcombe, took over the driver's seat and proceeded to bypass all traffic in front and put his foot on the pedals.

Harry Hornby Managing Director of Bradford Northern had a bronze medal struck by Edouard Fraisse of Paris to commemorate Whitcombe's achievement of winning the Lance Todd trophy the previous year and for his services to Rugby League.

Harry Hornby, the Chairman, and financial power behind Bradford Northern in those days paid a world record fee for Whitcombe.

Whitcombe took on the role of self-appointed 'minder' for Bradford Northern's slightly built, mercurial Welsh stand-off Willie Davies when he was targeted by opposing teams.

Here their sporting achievements were recognized, which included the Challenge Cup being brought back to Ninian Park School and to 52 Wedmore road where Frank was born and grew up as a boy.

The statue, created by Yorkshire sculptor Steve Winterburn, stands in Landsea Square, a prominent part of Mermaid Quay in Cardiff Bay.

During the Second World War, Whitcombe worked as a long-distance lorry driver for Harold Wood Ltd Bulk Liquid Transporters of Heckmondwike, a reserved occupation.

Harold Wood had government contracts to deliver aviation fuel in the early part of the war to RAF airfields, and later oil to Royal Navy mother ship's off the coast of Rhyl for the re supply of submarines.

This job involved driving all over the country, he often drove through the black out, and on several occasions when delivering aviation fuel took refuge under his wagon during air raids.

Firstly in 1947 Whitcombe took on The Hallfield Hotel a Melbourne Breweries 'Ale House' on Trafalgar Road opposite Busby's Department Store on Manningham Lane.

Running a city centre pub in Bradford was challenging especially at weekends when the family had the opportunity to take The Airedale Heifer Inn also owned by Heys Brewery's at Sandbeds near Keighley it was too good to turn down.

[citation needed] C E 'Ted' Horsfall Rugby Football League Council Chairman said: "What bad luck for his family and Bradford Northern in the help he was giving in re building the club.

I reckon he was one of the best front row forwards for his size ever to play football" Gideon Shaw, Chairman of the Rugby League selection committee, asked Whitcombe to apply for the team manager's post for the 1958 Ashes tour to Australia.

He is buried at Morton Banks Cemetery, not far from the Heifer, with his wife Doris, who died on 18 August 2003. in 2015 The Rugby Football League Head Office interior meeting rooms included six bespoke framed works celebrating incidental and quirky stories including Billy Boston's début, how Salford acquired the name 'Red Devils' and how Bradord Northern's Frank Whitcombe took over coach driving duties on the way to the 1946–47 Challenge Cup Final.