A Biography of Tibor Urgay (Updated Oct 26th)

Tibor Urgay, 'Youth in the Glade', ca 1961

  Thanks to Basil Clavering's flair for publicity in the early days of Royale, we know more about Tibor than most of their models.

 Tibor Urgay was a Hungarian national, born in Budapest in August 1941 [1], at the height of the second world war, a war in which Hungary sided with the German fascists. 

Tibor (aged 15) came to the UK in the wake of the September 1956 uprising against communist rule and the subsequent Russian re-occupation. Tibor had manned the barricades, according to [1].  He joined about 200,000 Hungarians who fled their homeland to escape retribution after resisting the Soviet invasion.  Most of them escaped by crossing the Austrian (Iron Curtain) border illegally in treacherous, wintery conditions. Tibor was one of around 20,000 who came to the UK. He and many others really wanted to go to the USA and regarded the UK as a stepping stone, but he ended up staying in Britain.  

In general, the refugees were welcomed in the UK, but most of them could not speak English and found it hard to find work [4]. Their English hosts could not speak Hungarian either. A poignant exhibit in the Bedfordshire County Archives [5] records the confusion and language problems surrounding their sudden arrival, and the disorientation and mistrust, some of them felt. Of course, they were accustomed to the West being painted as an enemy by Communist governments. 

According to one source, the refugees were not universally accepted, particularly if they failed to conform to 'expectations'. One report suggested criminal behaviour was hushed up by a supportive press, but when a group roasted a wild duck in Hyde Park it made headlines [4]. 

According to two sources, Tibor worked in the English coal mines [2], [3]. Miners were indeed a significant group amongst the arrivals, having played a major part in resisting the Soviets. The National Coal Board had a scheme to actively recruit 4000 experienced Hungarian miners to fill the national labour shortage left after the War. They were mainly sent to Staffordshire and Cheshire. However, a 2006 article in 'The Guardian' reported local opposition to employing them in coal mines in Wales.

Tibor wasn't actually old enough in 1956 to work in a UK mine. He was reportedly living about 30 miles north of London in 1958 [1] and there weren't any coal mines there. The Coal Miner claim may be a distortion of his life in Hungary or a result of him attempting to join the National Coal Board scheme. Or it may simply be pure invention by Basil Clavering, cashing in on the NCB publicity to give Tibor an interesting, manly persona.

 According to [1], Tibor "turned up" at Royale's Studio, i.e. Clavering's house, in July 1958. We don't know how this came about. He was reported as having joined a weightlifting club near his new home [1] and may have learned about Royale and its address that way. Several other Royale models were Hungarian, and they could have introduced him. It's possible that some of them had already learned, like British servicemen, that posing for Clavering was a glamorous and semi-respectable way of earning pocket money.  

 

 

Tibor's first issued photo set, a dual shoot with Fred Collins, was issued in October of that year. Fred, a relatively experienced model for Royale, may have had the job of mentoring him. A flurry of solo sets of Tibor had appeared by the end of the year. 

The esteem in which Tibor was held by Clavering is evident in the lengthy copy and rich prose that accompanied his photos in the Beefcake press, even comparing him to Michaelangelo's David (as in the image below). He even appears in the rare shot of Basil Clavering at work with his camera alongside Brian Lamprill and Ron Wiltshire. 

Tibor seems to have posed again occasionally, for Royale and Dolphin, in the years that followed. He doesn't seem to have posed for anyone else. In fact, a Royale advertisement in the beefcake press (Man Alive No 3) in January 1959, claimed in the small print that he was exclusively contracted to Royale, implying some sort of ongoing, monetary arrangement (see below).   

Royale ad (Jan 1959) - Tibor shown as under 'exclusive photographic contract'

After Royale's demise, a number of Tibor's photos appeared in the beefcake press labelled as the work of Peter Dobing, but nearly all of them are demonstrably part of the Royale catalogue. That doesn't necessarily mean Dobing didn't take them, Royale also distributed photos taken by John Barrington under the Royale name, but equally Dobing may have simply acquired the rights to them in the closing down sale.

Tibor Paul Urgay became a naturalised British citizen in 1967 under the name Tibor Urge, which I imagine is the correct Hungarian spelling (with the 'e' pronounced 'eh', as in 'bet'). That means that he was able to show good character to the British authorities and intended to stay in the UK. He was declared to be living in Luton, which is indeed 30 miles north of London (and in Bedfordshire, as it happens!). His occupation was given as a toolmaker, which means he had acquired professional engineering skills when he wasn't training with weights or posing for beefcake photographs.

He married the same year. 

I have also found press reports of a man with his name in the East Anglia region later in 1967 and again in 1976. The man concerned was reportedly 26 in 1967, which exactly fits with 'our' Tibor's birthday. The trail goes cold after that, if he is still in the UK, he would now be 84. 

~ 

 

References 

[1] Article in Man's World, Nov 1958 (Beefcake Magazine)  

[2] Article in Tomorrow's Man v7#1, Dec 1958 

[3] Article in Formosus #1 (Summer '59)

[4] How Britain welcomed fugitives from Hungary - Guardian, Oct 20th, 2006

[5] Bedfordshire County Archives, Refugees Display - 3