David Young (British Army officer)
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant General Sir David Tod Young KBE
CB
DFC
(17 May 1926 - 9 January 2000) was General Officer Commanding Scotland
.
in Edinburgh
, Young was commissioned into the Royal Scots in 1945. He was seconded to the Glider Pilot Regiment
in 1949 and qualified as a pilot.
He served in the Malayan Emergency
in the early 1950s and won his Distinguished Flying Cross
operating at low levels over rugged jungle terrain with 656 Air Observation Squadron
.
He was selected to be Commanding Officer
of 1st Bn the Royal Scots in 1967. In 1970 he was appointed Commander
of 12th Mechanised Brigade and in 1972 he became Deputy Military Secretary at the Ministry of Defence
. He moved on to be Commander Land Forces at HQ Northern Ireland
in 1975 at the height of the Troubles
and then became Director, Infantry in 1977. He was made General Officer Commanding Scotland
and Governor of Edinburgh Castle in 1980: he retired in 1982.
In retirement he became Chairman of Cairntech Limited. He was also Chairman of the Scottish Committee of Marie Curie Cancer Care
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
CB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
DFC
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
(17 May 1926 - 9 January 2000) was General Officer Commanding Scotland
Scottish Command
-History:The Command was established in 1905 at Edinburgh Castle but moved to Craigiehall in the early 1950s.Since 1936 the General Officer Commanding Scottish Command has also always been appointed Governor of Edinburgh Castle....
.
Military career
Educated at George Watson's CollegeGeorge Watson's College
George Watson's College, known informally as Watson's, is a co-educational independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a hospital school in 1741, became a day school in 1871 and was merged with its sister school...
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Young was commissioned into the Royal Scots in 1945. He was seconded to the Glider Pilot Regiment
Glider Pilot Regiment
The Glider Pilot Regiment was a British airborne forces unit of the Second World War which was responsible for crewing the British Army's military gliders and saw action in the European Theatre of World War II in support of Allied airborne operations...
in 1949 and qualified as a pilot.
He served in the Malayan Emergency
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
in the early 1950s and won his Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
operating at low levels over rugged jungle terrain with 656 Air Observation Squadron
No. 656 Squadron RAF
No. 656 Squadron RAF was a Air Oberservation Post unit of the Royal Air Force in India and Burma during the Second World War and afterwards in British Malaya. Numbers 651 to 663 Squadron of the RAF were Air Observation Post units working closely with British Army units in artillery spotting and...
.
He was selected to be Commanding Officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
of 1st Bn the Royal Scots in 1967. In 1970 he was appointed Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
of 12th Mechanised Brigade and in 1972 he became Deputy Military Secretary at the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
. He moved on to be Commander Land Forces at HQ Northern Ireland
HQ Northern Ireland
HQ Northern Ireland was the command formation responsible for the administration of all British Armed Forces stationed in and around Northern Ireland...
in 1975 at the height of the Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
and then became Director, Infantry in 1977. He was made General Officer Commanding Scotland
Scottish Command
-History:The Command was established in 1905 at Edinburgh Castle but moved to Craigiehall in the early 1950s.Since 1936 the General Officer Commanding Scottish Command has also always been appointed Governor of Edinburgh Castle....
and Governor of Edinburgh Castle in 1980: he retired in 1982.
In retirement he became Chairman of Cairntech Limited. He was also Chairman of the Scottish Committee of Marie Curie Cancer Care
Marie Curie Cancer Care
Marie Curie Cancer Care is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which provides nursing care, free of charge, to terminally ill people, giving them the chance to choose to be cared for at home...
.