On 6 November 1586 Collingwood was returning from Newcastle to his home, with his wife and daughter, when he encountered William Selby and his armed followers.
[5] In December 1590 Selby, already described as gentleman porter, was instructed to take an inventory of arms and gunpowder at Berwick and Carlisle.
On account of his track record as an "absentee pensioner" and poor management skills, in December 1593 Carey wrote to William Cecil advising that Selby should not be appointed Comptroller of the Works in the place of Nicolas Errington, who had recently died, because as comptroller Selby would make all at Berwick "weary of their places".
[6] In May 1594 William's brother-in-law, Captain George Selby captured two fugitives from the Scottish court, Jacob Kroger a goldsmith serving Anne of Denmark and Guillaume Martyn, a French attendant in the stables of James VI of Scotland.
In August 1596 he achieved his ambition to be Comptroller of Ordinance in the North and reported on the state of the iron gates of Berwick which were consumed with rust.
He claimed his authority was less than that granted to Errington and complained that Lord Scrope at Carlisle Castle had refused to allow his officer to carry out an inspection.