Douglas Young | |
|---|---|
 Young,c. 1945 | |
| Leader of the Scottish National Party | |
| In office 30 May 1942 – 9 June 1945 | |
| Preceded by | William Power |
| Succeeded by | Bruce Watson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1913-06-05)5 June 1913 Tayport, Fife, Scotland |
| Died | 23 October 1973(1973-10-23) (aged 60) Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States |
| Political party | Scottish National Party |
| Other political affiliations | Labour Party |
| Spouse | Helena Auchterlonie(m. 1943–1973) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of St Andrews University of Oxford |
| Profession | Lecturer,Professor (Classics) |
Douglas Cuthbert Colquhoun Young (5 June 1913 – 23 October 1973) was a Scottishpoet, scholar, translator and politician. He was the leader of theScottish National Party (SNP) from 1942 to 1945, and was aclassics professor atMcMaster University and theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Young was born inTayport,Fife, the son of Stephen Young; a mercantile clerk employed inIndia by aDundeejute firm. Young senior had insisted that his pregnant wife return home to give birth to their son inScotland. However, shortly after his birth in Fife, Douglas was taken to India with his mother, where he spent the early part of his childhood inBengal, speakingUrdu as a second language there.[1]
From the age of eight, Young attendedMerchiston Castle School inEdinburgh, where he developed a deep interest in History and theClassics. He studied at theUniversity of St Andrews, graduating with afirst-classMA in Classics in 1934, and then atNew College, Oxford, 1935-1938.[1] Standing at 6 feet and 7 inches (200 cm) tall, he also possessed a large range of talents over a wide array of subjects and was recognised as apolymath.[2][3]
Young began his professional academic career at theUniversity of Aberdeen, where he served as assistant lecturer inGreek from 1938 to 1941.
Following the war, Young was lecturer inLatin atUniversity College, Dundee (which was then a part of the University of St Andrews), from 1947 to 1953, then lecturer in Greek at the University of St Andrews from 1953 to 1968.[1]
He translated the comedyThe Birds byAncient Greek playwrightAristophanes.The Burdies was first performed in 1959 in Edinburgh.[2][3] In 1966 it was performed by the Royal Lyceum Company.[3][4][5]
In 1952, Young travelled withNaomi Mitchison as part of an Authors' World Peace Appeal delegation to the Soviet Union. Here Young met several Russian authors, includingMikhail Zoshchenko andSamuil Marshak.[6] During the visit, the Soviet authorities "refused to transmit a radio script" where Young stated the Western European view of theKorean War.[6] Young served as president ofScottish PEN from 1958 to 1962.
In 1968, he moved to Canada to a post as professor of classics atMcMaster University, where he taught until 1970. He was then the first Paddison Professor of Greek at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1970 until his death.[1][2][7]
Already a member of theLabour Party, Young joined the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 1938, serving as Chair of the SNP inAberdeen during the 1940s. The SNP was pledged to opposeconscription, except by a Scottish government, and Young refused to register either formilitary service or as aconscientious objector duringWorld War II. He served two terms in prison, readingGreek as much as possible in his cell. At trial, Young contested the authority of the British government, specifically whether theAct of Union could be used to compel Scots to serve in the British military outside the British Isles.[8] He was convicted under theNational Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939 at theGlasgow Sheriff Court in April 1942.[9] He appealed at the High Court in July 1942 but this was dismissed.[9] Young's activities were popularly vilified as undermining the British war effort against the Nazis.[citation needed] His daughter later claimed that he had volunteered in 1939, and was unfit due to a heart problem.[10]
Of his first prison term, served inSaughton, Young wrote:
On weekdays I used to work about the grounds in what was called 'the garden party' and on Sundays I played a wheezy old harmonium for the Presbyterian services in the chapel.
Dr. Robert McIntyre, secretary of the SNP, organised a procession complete withbagpipes to serenade Young on Sundays at the prison-gates.
Shortly after his release from prison, Young stood as the SNP candidate at theKirkcaldy Burghs by-election in February 1944. His election agent wasArthur Donaldson and the campaign owed much to the input of Dr.Robert McIntyre. In a three-way contest, Young polled 6,621 votes, 42% of the poll, securing a strong second place to the successful Coalition Labour candidateThomas Hubbard.[11]
In June 1944, he appeared atPaisley Sheriff Court charged with not complying withDefence Regulations and was sentenced to a second term in prison.[12] In October, his appeal was heard at theCourt of Criminal Appeal but dismissed byLord Cooper.[13]
Young resigned from the SNP in 1948, in protest against the party's new constitution, which prohibited being a member of the SNP while also being a member of another political party. He had been a member of both theLabour Party and the SNP until he was elected leader in 1942, and had argued against efforts to ban dual-party membership when this was proposed over the next few years leading up to the passing of the new constitution.[14] The event which brought the situation to a head was the party's expulsion of Robert Wilkie, who had run as an "Independent Nationalist" under the SNP ticket at the1948 Glasgow Camlachie by-election.[15] Young rejoined the Labour Party in June 1951, partly because of the perilous situation the party found itself in with its small parliamentary majority following the1950 general election. He also felt that the response to theScottish Covenant was certain to bring about the establishment of aScottish Parliament, which he had supported as a Labour Party member.[16]
In 1967, he was a founder member of the1320 Club, which sought to provide a nationalist alternative to the SNP.[1]
Young died unexpectedly at his desk inChapel Hill, North Carolina, on 23 October 1973, aged 60.[7] He was married in 1943 to the Scottish ceramic artist Helena (Hella) Auchterlonie (1910–1999); the couple had two daughters.[17]
In 2003, a plaque to commemorate him was unveiled at theWriters' Museum in Edinburgh.[18]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chairman (Leader) of the Scottish National Party 1942–1945 | Succeeded by |
