Frederick Selby, Architect

Frederick Selby was an architect who lived at 48 Queen Square in the 1970s, and contributed an entry into a Strathbungo Society competition for a monument to Alexander “Greek” Thomson in 1975.

So who was he? Well, not Fred Selby, for starters.

He was a tutor at Glasgow School of Art, and they provide us with a biography of the man.

German beginings

He was a German-Jewish refugee, born in Germany as Manfred Salinger. He studied architecture at the Technical College of Berlin in the 1920s under Modernists such as Walter Gropius and Erich Mendelsohn (despite having Albert Speer, “Hitler’s architect”, as a classmate. Selby even apparently wrote to Speer upon his release from Spandau prison after the war to wish him well!).

Selby practised as an architect in Berlin before escaping to Prague during the Nazi regime. He was was unable to work as an architect there as only Czechs were allowed to do so, but found work as a neon sign maker and developed his life-long love for Czech architecture. He was later to find himself on the streets of Prague again during the Summer of 1968 as the Czech people attempted (unsuccessfully) to overthrow the Soviet Union-backed regime (He brought back several dramatic pictures of the uprising, now stored in the archives at Strathclyde University). When the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia, after several failed attempts to travel to the Soviet Union, Salinger finally found himself in England, and picked up his new name somewhere along the way.

In the UK

Selby was initially interned at a refugee camp when he first came to Britain, finding himself alongside fellow future GSA staff member Paul Zunterstein, who went on to study and work under Benno Schotz in the 1950s. After serving in the British Army in Palestine and Egypt, Selby moved to Glasgow, was admitted as an Associate to RIBA (the Royal British Institute of Architects) in 1948, and began teaching and practising as an architect once more. He became a lecturer at The Mackintosh School of Architecture and continued to teach architectural history part-time at GSA after his retiral in 1972.

Selby’s specialist subject was Modern Architectural Theory, and as a former student of Gropius and Mendelsohn in Berlin, Selby was described by Professor Frank Walker, his student turned colleague, as “a living link to Modernism”, someone who had experienced the progression of Modern European architecture at close quarters, and who through his teaching and practice brought first-hand knowledge of the places and people students at GSA were studying and aspiring to.

Some of his drawings for the Greek Thomson memorial exist in the Strathbungo Society’s records. The memorial was to be sited where the Nithsdale roundabout island currently sits.
Thomson Memorial proposal

More images

Glasgow School of Art Archives and Collections holds a large quantity of Selby’s work, including many sketches from his travels in Italy and the Middle East; and designs for the Herzl Memorial competition and the aforementioned Alexander “Greek” Thomson Memorial competition, these can be viewed online .

In 1967 Selby also provided a commentary for a 30 minute educational film about Alexander Thomson, which is available from the Moving Image Archive of the National Library of Scotland. It includes fascinating period footage of his buildings, some of which you will know, and some about to disappear.

References

1.
Archives GS of A, Collections. International GSA: Fred Selby [Internet]. GSA Archives and Collections. 2013 [cited 2018 Sep 20]. Available from: https://gsaarchivesandcollections.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/international-gsa-fred-selby/
1.
Selby Image Thumbnails | GSA Archives [Internet]. [cited 2018 Sep 20]. Available from: http://www.gsaarchives.net/archon/index.php?p=digitallibrary/thumbnails&creatorid=569

6 Comments

  1. Douglas Anderson

    January 12, 2019 at 8:53 pm

    Even by your standards Andrew, that is a corker of a story . I wonder what became of the memorial proposal? The roundabout could still house a statue but I suppose access would be hazardous. Selby must have been a very forgiving man to be able to wish Speer well. I feel lucky to live in such an interesting area and to have you as the historian.

    Best wishes

  2. Fred Selby was one of my Architectural History tutors at Strathclyde University in the early 70s. he must have moved between GSA Mac School and Strathclyde. His colleague at Strathclyde was Frank Walker, who may still be alive. Both were very fond of eastern European architects since I took photos in Vienna in early 80s for Frank Walker. Somewhere in the storm door porch panelling of 22 Queen Square is a door nameplate from Fred’s house – found in street and ‘lost’ while doing some renovation work at 22.

    • Nora Hessayon

      July 16, 2020 at 3:03 pm

      I am Nora Hessayon nee Selby, Manfred’s ( Fred ‘s) daughter . Where is the name plate mentioned above as I would love to have it ? I just came across this article now. Very interesting.

      • Hi Nora – We’re producing a booklet this autumn to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Strathbungo Society and I would really like to talk with you about your father and his time here. Fascinating to see his drawings for a Thomson Memorial! Could you contact me at sharon.schweps@gmail.com?
        [Apologies for not spotting this comment sooner – Ed]

  3. phil mccafferty

    July 16, 2020 at 10:13 pm

    we moved away from 22 Queen Square in the mid 2000s so it will probably be buried in the storm door recess panelling or down the wall linings for some future generation to discover. sorry I dont have it. i did recognise the name of course.

  4. Added a link to a 1967 Greek Thomson educational film for which Fred Selby wrote the commentary. Fascinating stuff. Thanks to the Alexander Thomson Society for the tip off.

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