1930 - 2026

Kevin Selby
Kevin was born in Southwell to Mary and Harry Selby. The family moved to Bristol during the 1930s so Kevin spent his childhood in this heavily bombed city during the war. Kevin joined the ATC as a teenager where he learned to fly a glider. Kevin moved with his family to Nottingham after completing his national service with the RAF. In 1950 Kevin met Pauline and they were married two years later. In the 1990s Kevin was a member of the GFS. Pauline and Kevin regularly attended the Blackpool conventions where he enjoyed playing and singing with other members. He was a fine performer and loved to play Get Cracking. For several years he was the Society Treasurer. He was highly respected and noted for his insistence that Society funds should be spent on the membership of today and not be held for the future. Kevin was a clerk at British Sugar and after working at nights he qualified as an accountant with the Open University. Kevin loved cricket, playing for a local team and was an umpire for Edgerton Park Cricket Club. In 1964 the family moved to Melton when Kevin was offered a job at Petfoods as a Systems Analyst, where he worked until his retirement. During the next 60 years Kevin continued his love of sport. The couple ran half marathons and Kevin completed three London marathons. He also played table tennis for Petfoods. Kevin’s main sport was golf. He was a member of Melton Golf Club, a captain there in 1987, and later the president. Kevin was a Jack of all trades. He could fix anything around the house - and if he couldn't, he'd attend a course to learn how to! He inherited a make do and mend attitude and threw nothing away. If anyone needed a missing screw, knob, bolt, nut, spring or thingamajig he had it. Kevin was a caring head of the family – always there to play games, sing and dance with you and sooth you when ill. He could solve everyone’s problems, guide you in the right direction or support you when times were tough. He was an amazing husband, dad, grandad, great grandad, and great great grandad! Sue Wright - daughter

Kevin’s life in the George Formby Society

Kevin joined the George Formby Society early in 1993 and before the end of that same year he had already founded the East Midlands Branch, which quickly became one of the Society’s most successful and popular gatherings. His dedication to the Society—as a branch organiser, committee member and performer—left a lasting mark on the Society. Until I read the words written by Kevin’s daughter Sue, I believed I knew quite a lot about her dear father. Through committee meetings, conventions, and occasional visits to Kevin’s East Midlands branch, it is easy to feel that we truly know someone. Yet we all have lives beyond George Formby, and Kevin was no exception. While I knew him to be a highly talented individual, much of Sue’s tribute revealed things that were new to me—though when I think about Kevin none of it surprises me. One memorable event that brought considerable attention to the branch occurred when ITV Central spent two days filming there, producing a five-minute feature about the Society for broadcast across the region. In 1995 Kevin was elected to the committee as Assistant Treasurer to Charles Peacock, and before the end of that year he had taken on the role of Treasurer himself. These were busy years for the Society, with membership growing rapidly and the GFS Shop enjoying great success at the Blackpool conventions. Kevin’s accounting skills were therefore much in demand. After six years of dedicated service, Kevin stepped down from the role. At the time he was in his seventy-first year and faced a round trip of some five hours between his home in Melton Mowbray and the committee meetings in Wigan. Today, of course, such meetings are easily held from home using Zoom. Kevin also ran the East Midlands Branch for ten years before deciding to step back, first ensuring that someone was ready to continue the work. Anyone who has organised a branch will appreciate the effort involved in transporting sound equipment and preparing for every meeting—rain or shine. Kevin and his wife Pauline were among the nicest people you could wish to meet and Kevin was always an enjoyable performer on the Blackpool stage. I have the pleasure of presenting a short video clip of him, with footage from both 1994 and 2010. I had not seen Kevin for some years, but I understand that he had reached his ninety-sixth year. Like his long association with the George Formby Society, it was truly a magnificent life. On behalf of the members of the George Formby Society, I extend sincere condolences to all of Kevin’s family. Peter Pollard 10.03.2026
KEVIN PERFORMS IN BLACKPOOL IN 2010
KEVIN AT A SHEFFIELD MEETING IN 1997
TWO PERFORMANCES OF KEVIN IN 1994 AND 2010
The first part of this video clip is from 1994 and is a monologe associated with the famous music hall comedian Rob Wilton. Typically, Kevin is word perfect and gives a lovely performance of “Sailing On The Sea.” Then from 2010 Kevin performs the George Formby song “Believe It Or Not.”
Kevin was born in Southwell to Mary and Harry Selby. The family moved to Bristol during the 1930s so Kevin spent his childhood in this heavily bombed city during the war. Kevin joined the ATC as a teenager where he learned to fly a glider. Kevin moved with his family to Nottingham after completing his national service with the RAF. In 1950 Kevin met Pauline and they were married two years later. In the 1990s Kevin was a member of the GFS. Pauline and Kevin regularly attended the Blackpool conventions where he enjoyed playing and singing with other members. He was a fine performer and loved to play Get Cracking. For several years he was the Society Treasurer. He was highly respected and noted for his insistence that Society funds should be spent on the membership of today and not be held for the future. Kevin was a clerk at British Sugar and after working at nights he qualified as an accountant with the Open University. Kevin loved cricket, playing for a local team and was an umpire for Edgerton Park Cricket Club. In 1964 the family moved to Melton when Kevin was offered a job at Petfoods as a Systems Analyst, where he worked until his retirement. During the next 60 years Kevin continued his love of sport. The couple ran half marathons and Kevin completed three London marathons. He also played table tennis for Petfoods. Kevin’s main sport was golf. He was a member of Melton Golf Club, a captain there in 1987, and later the president. Kevin was a Jack of all trades. He could fix anything around the house - and if he couldn't, he'd attend a course to learn how to! He inherited a make do and mend attitude and threw nothing away. If anyone needed a missing screw, knob, bolt, nut, spring or thingamajig he had it. Kevin was a caring head of the family – always there to play games, sing and dance with you and sooth you when ill. He could solve everyone’s problems, guide you in the right direction or support you when times were tough. He was an amazing husband, dad, grandad, great grandad, and great great grandad! Sue Wright - daughter

Kevin’s life in the George Formby Society

Kevin joined the George Formby Society early in 1993 and before the end of that same year he had already founded the East Midlands Branch, which quickly became one of the Society’s most successful and popular gatherings. His dedication to the Society—as a branch organiser, committee member and performer—left a lasting mark on the Society. Until I read the words written by Kevin’s daughter Sue, I believed I knew quite a lot about her dear father. Through committee meetings, conventions, and occasional visits to Kevin’s East Midlands branch, it is easy to feel that we truly know someone. Yet we all have lives beyond George Formby, and Kevin was no exception. While I knew him to be a highly talented individual, much of Sue’s tribute revealed things that were new to me—though when I think about Kevin none of it surprises me. One memorable event that brought considerable attention to the branch occurred when ITV Central spent two days filming there, producing a five-minute feature about the Society for broadcast across the region. In 1995 Kevin was elected to the committee as Assistant Treasurer to Charles Peacock, and before the end of that year he had taken on the role of Treasurer himself. These were busy years for the Society, with membership growing rapidly and the GFS Shop enjoying great success at the Blackpool conventions. Kevin’s accounting skills were therefore much in demand. After six years of dedicated service, Kevin stepped down from the role. At the time he was in his seventy-first year and faced a round trip of some five hours between his home in Melton Mowbray and the committee meetings in Wigan. Today, of course, such meetings are easily held from home using Zoom. Kevin also ran the East Midlands Branch for ten years before deciding to step back, first ensuring that someone was ready to continue the work. Anyone who has organised a branch will appreciate the effort involved in transporting sound equipment and preparing for every meeting—rain or shine. Kevin and his wife Pauline were among the nicest people you could wish to meet and Kevin was always an enjoyable performer on the Blackpool stage. I have the pleasure of presenting a short video clip of him, with footage from both 1994 and 2010. I had not seen Kevin for some years, but I understand that he had reached his ninety-sixth year. Like his long association with the George Formby Society, it was truly a magnificent life. On behalf of the members of the George Formby Society, I extend sincere condolences to all of Kevin’s family. Peter Pollard 10.03.2026
kevin selby
The first part of this video clip is from 1994 and is a monologue associated with the famous music hall comedian Rob Wilton. Typically, Kevin is word perfect and gives a lovely performance of “Sailing On The Sea.” Then from 2010 Kevin performs the George Formby song “Believe It Or Not.”

1930 - 2026

TWO PERFORMANCES OF KEVIN IN 1994 AND 2010