William Ryan junior had attended the Upper Tent Hill school, and became well-known in the Laidley and Esk districts as an athlete.

[3] Cattle thieves at one point bestowed the nickname 'Flying Sergeant' upon Ryan, in part for when his presence arose suspicion in an area, he would casually remark 'I am going fishing'.

[11] He established night duty bicycle patrols in the Metropolitan District and bought two motorised prison vans to replace the horse-drawn 'Black Maria'.

However by October 1930, 'Queensland has decided to fall in line with most of the other Australian states and appoint policewomen', with two or three officers to 'have particular duties to perform, principally with women and children'.

[3] On 17 September 1901, recently of Plane Creek (today, Sarina), south of Mackay but now based in Ravenswood, Ryan married Margaret Inglis Beagrie.

Ryan post-retirement continued as an avid Queensland fisherman, labelled a practitioner of Izaak Walton, a reference to the author of The Compleat Angler (1653).

[22][23] The funeral left Saint Ignatius Church, Kensington Terrace to Toowong Cemetery on Monday 19 July 1954, where he was buried beside his wife Margaret.

[24] Formerly of Mackay police station, on 18 July 1902, the Royal Humane Society's medal and certificate for life-saving were presented to Ryan for saving the life of Miss Dollie Kemp.

At least 1 mile (1.6 km) further along, Ryan galloped to the scene, attempted to swim out to her, but failing to make way, 'stripped in the sea, and eventually succeeded in bringing her back against a strong current'.