David Young (British Army officer)

Sir David Young
Born	(1926-05-17)17 May 1926
Died	9 January 2000(2000-01-09) (aged 73)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	British Army
Years of service	1945–1982
Rank	Lieutenant General
Service number	354597
Unit	Royal Scots Glider Pilot Regiment
Commands	General Officer Commanding Scotland 12th Mechanised Brigade 1st Battalion the Royal Scots
Battles / wars	Second World War Malayan Emergency Operation Banner
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Flying Cross

Lieutenant General Sir David Tod Young KBE, CB, DFC (17 May 1926 – 9 January 2000) was a senior British Army officer who served as General Officer Commanding Scotland from 1980 to 1982.

Military career

Educated at George Watson's College 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 (CO) of the 1st Battalion, Royal Scots in 1967. In 1970 he was appointed commander of the 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, before retiring from regular service in 1982. He became Colonel Commandant of the Ulster Defence Regiment from 1986 to 1991.

In retirement he became Chairman of Cairntech Limited. He was also Chairman of the Scottish Committee of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Family

He married Joyce Marian Melville in 1950; they had two sons. Following the death of his first wife, he married Joanna Oyler in 1988.