Bust of Rev Selby Wright in Canongate Kirk

Ronald William Vernon Selby Wright CVO TD JP

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

FSAScot (12 June 1908,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

– 24 October 1995,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

) was a

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

minister. He became one of the best known

ministers of his generation and served as

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...

in 1972/73.Torrence, T. F
Ronald William Vernon Selby Wright
The Royal Society of Edinburgh, Retrieved 28 September 2014

Life

Selby Wright was born in Glasgow in 1908, the son of Prof Vernon O. Wright, and his wife, Anna Gilberta Selby. The family lived at 6 India Street in the Charing Cross district. His father was Professor of Music at the Glasgow College of Music. When Ronald was three years old, the family moved to

. He was educated at

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Stockbridge, is now part of the Senior Scho ...

, Melville College and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. He studied divinity at New College, Edinburgh. He was probationer assistant at

Glasgow Cathedral Glasgow Cathedral () is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the cathedral church of the Archbishop of Glasgow, and the mother church of the Archdiocese of Glasgow and the province of Glasgow, from the 12th ...

in 1936, prior to becoming minister at

Canongate Kirk The Kirk of the Canongate, or Canongate Kirk, serves the Parish of Canongate in Edinburgh's Old Town, in Scotland. It is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. The parish includes the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Scottish Parliament. It i ...

in Edinburgh in January 1937. His only ministerial charge, he remained at Canongate until he retired in 1977. He turned down numerous offers, including the chair in Practical Theology at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

and the Chaplaincy of the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

. His ministry at Canongate Kirk was notable for his social concern, liturgical interest and for the restoration of the church building. His social concern was particularly reflected in the establishment of the Canongate Boys’ Club. During his ministry the

Canongate The Canongate is a street and associated district in central Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. The street forms the main eastern length of the Royal Mile while the district is the main eastern section of Edinburgh's Old Town. David ...

parish was one of the most run-down areas of Edinburgh, with considerable poverty — despite the presence of the

Palace of Holyroodhouse The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly known as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood has ...

in the parish. He would also later serve as chaplain to a number of Edinburgh schools and edited some books for teenagers, such as ''Asking Them Questions''. His social concern would also see him become actively involved in a wide range of activities in Edinburgh, including serving on the management of various institutions. He was an erudite man, the author of many books and he had a large personal library. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he had been a Territorial Army Chaplain, but in 1939 he was mobilised as a padre with

The Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I. The regiment existed co ...

regiment in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He managed to evade capture by the German Army and was evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940. During his military service the Rev.

George MacLeod George Fielden MacLeod, Baron MacLeod of Fuinary, (17 June 1895 – 27 June 1991) was a Scottish soldier and clergyman; he was one of the best known, most influential and unconventional Church of Scotland ministers of the 20th century. He ...

served as locum at Canongate Kirk. Back in Scotland, Ronald Selby Wright was recruited by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

to give a series of broadcasts. His direct, conversational style won deep appreciation and he acquired the nickname "The Radio Padre".Kernohan, R. D. (26 October 1995
The Very Rev Dr Ronald Selby Wright
The Herald, Retrieved 28 September 2014 In 1942 he was appointed Senior Chaplain to the 52nd (Lowland) Division of the British Army, serving in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. 17 Regent Terrace 2015

Following the war, Ronald Selby Wright played a considerable role in renewing interest in liturgy in the

. Drawing on

John Knox John Knox ( – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgate, a street in Haddington, East Lot ...

’s work (notably the Book of Common Order of 1564), he devised a liturgical order of service for use at Canongate Kirk, including considerable participation by the congregation (then highly unusual in the Church of Scotland.) He was very much of the ‘High Church’ tradition within the Church of Scotland; he was President of the

Scottish Church Society The Scottish Church Society is a Church of Scotland society founded in 1892. Leading founders were Thomas Leishman and William Milligan, and the first secretary was James Cooper. Background Although always a minority within the Church of Scotla ...

. He also oversaw the renovation and restoration of Canongate Kirk, through the removal of unsympathetic Victorian accretions (such as the galleries and an overbearing organ in front of the pulpit.) The church was thus restored to a dignified, aesthetic simplicity of high quality. From 1946 he lived at 17

Regent Terrace Regent Terrace is a residential street of 34 classical 3-bay townhouses built on the upper south side of Calton Hill in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. Regent Terrace is within the Edinburgh New and Old Town UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed ...

in Edinburgh, a truly huge and luxurious property.Mitchell, Anne (1993), "The People of Calton Hill",

Mercat Press Mercat Press is an imprint of the Edinburgh, Scotland-based publishing company Birlinn Limited. It was established in 1970 as a subsidiary of the bookseller James Thin, and published facsimile editions of out-of-print Scottish works, such as ...

, James Thin, Edinburgh, . He valued the church's connections with the state and in 1963 became a

Chaplain to The Queen An Honorary Chaplain to the King is a member of the clergy within the United Kingdom who, through long and distinguished service, is appointed to minister to the monarch of the United Kingdom. When the reigning monarch is female, Honorary Chaplain ...

. The Queen worships in Canongate Kirk when in residence at the

. He was made a Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(CVO) in 1986, Doctor of Divinity (DD) by the University of Edinburgh in 1956 and a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

(FRSE) in 1973. A 1997 Sunday Times article, citing the private diaries of an unnamed deceased member of an upper class Scottish family, claimed that Wright was a persistent paedophile who was treated for venereal disease contracted by frequenting "lower class rent boys, who were considered fair game by the upper-middle classes...as they were extremely promiscuous and easily lured by money or gifts".Mega, Marcello (1 May 1997
Blair's School Mentor was a sex abuser
Sunday Times, Archived by Spotliightonabuse, Retrieved 28 September 2014 Indeed, Tam Dalyell, writing Selby Wright's obituary in the Independent, suggests that his accession to Moderator of the General Assembly was delayed due to "the whisper, 'But are we sure Ronnie is not too fond of his boys?' The question transfixed and enthralled Edinburgh society", but that he was eventually appointed, as "...there seemed to be little question and certainly no evidence" that he was a paedophile.Dayell, Tam (26 October 1995

The Independent, Retrieved 28 September 2014 He never married but one source claimed he had a platonic relationship with a nurse who fell in love with him, in spite of his being sexually attracted only to boys. He retired from Canongate Kirk in 1977 and continued to live in Edinburgh, where he died in 1995 at the age of 87. His ashes are buried immediately east of the church, with a small granite memorial, immediately below the monument to

Robert Hurd Robert Philip Andrew Hurd (29 July 1905 – 17 September 1963) was an influential conservation architect. His original aim was to be an architectural author specialising in traditional forms. He came to Scotland in 1930 and worked at the Edin ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Ronald Selby 20th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 20th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland People educated at Stewart's Melville College People educated at Edinburgh Academy Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 1908 births 1995 deaths Fellows_of_the_Society_of_Antiquaries_of_Scotland