Major-General Allan Elton Younger DSO

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, known to friends as Tony Younger (4 May 1919 – 5 July 2010) was a British

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

, Colonel Commandant of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

from 1974 to 1979. After returning to civilian life, he was Director-General of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies.

Background

Younger's family is a branch of the

Younger's Brewery Younger's Brewery (William Younger & Company) was a brewery in Edinburgh. Established in 1749, it became one of the city’s main commercial enterprises, supplying domestic and foreign markets.D E Keir, ''The Younger centuries : the story of Wi ...

family of Edinburgh, founded by his ancestor William Younger (1733-1769). It also has a long military tradition, and his grandfather was

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

John Younger,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. He was a maternal first cousin of the actor, John Le Mesurier Halliley.

Early life

Younger was the son of

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Arthur Allan Shakespear Younger DSO and his wife Marjorie Rhoda Halliley. He was educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a private school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Baccalaureate schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a f ...

and as a gentleman cadet at the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

,"Younger, Maj.-Gen. Allan Elton"
ukwhoswho.com, accessed 15 November 2023 ; and ''Who's Who 2003'' (A. & C. Black, London, 2003), p. 2408 from where he was commissioned into the

as a second lieutenant on 26 January 1939. While at the Academy, he had passed the entrance examination for the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, and was expecting to join the university in October 1939, but shortly before that war broke out, and his further education had to be deferred. After the war, he went up to

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

, and graduated BA and MA (by seniority).

Career

In 1940, Younger saw active service with the British Expeditionary Force in France and Belgium. As the Germans speedily advanced, his work was in blowing up bridges. He returned to England as part of the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

of May to June 1940. In 1942, Younger took part in trials on the Scottish island of

Gruinard Gruinard Island ( ; ) is a small, oval-shaped Scottish island approximately long by wide, located in Gruinard Bay, about halfway between Gairloch and Ullapool. At its closest point to the mainland, it is about offshore. In 1942, the island be ...

to test the potential of

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

as a weapon. He later said that its lethality compared with chemical weapons was like the difference between

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

and a nuclear bomb. In 1943, Younger was given command of 26 Assault Squadron, a unit with bridge-laying and other specialist tasks, with instructions to prepare to lead the 7th Brigade ashore on D-Day. He had a large part in modifying the Royal Engineers Assault Vehicle, or AVRE, into a suitable landing craft, and practiced by invading the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

.Paul Arnott, ''Windrush: A Ship Through Time'' (The History Press, 2019)
p. 164
/ref> At

H-Hour NATO designations are specified in Allied Administrative Publication AAP-6 (STANAG 3680) ''NATO Glossary of Terms and Definitions'', and marked (NATO) in this list. Entries specific to the U.S. and defined only in ''Joint Publication JP 1-02'' are ...

on 6 June 1944, shortly before the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

, Younger returned to France and commanded a squadron of sappers, the first armoured unit to land."Major-General Tony Younger" (obituary), ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', 26 July 2010 Coming ashore near

Courseulles Courseulles-sur-Mer (, ), commonly known as ''Courseulles'', is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Until 1957, the town's name was simply ''Courseulles''. It lies 3 km west of Bernières-sur-Mer and 18&nb ...

, he was wounded and lost the hearing in one ear, so was returned to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, but was flown back into the action in time to assist with the crossing of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. He went on to see further action in France, Holland, and Germany, until the end of the war in 1945. In August 1944, while a Captain with the temporary rank of Major, he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

. After the war, Younger passed the Staff College. He was in Burma, 1946–1947, and Malaya, in 1948, at the beginning of the Emergency. He then returned for a two-year course at Christ’s College, Cambridge, reading Mechanical Science. Younger took part in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

between 1950 and 1951, being given command of 55 Field Squadron, Royal Engineers. In 1952, the United States awarded him the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

. He attended and graduated from the

United States Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

. From 1954 to 1957, Younger was posted as an instructor at Sandhurst and was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1959. For two years from 1960 he commanded 36 Corps Engineer Regiment, in the United Kingdom and Kenya. In May 1962 he was appointed as an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

.''The London Gazette'', Supplement 42683, 25 May 1962
p. 4313
/ref> He was the Senior Army Member of the Directing Staff at the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest leve ...

from 1972 to 1975. Between 1976 and 1978, Younger was Director-General of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies.

Personal life

In 1942, Younger married Diana Lanyon, and they had three daughters. He died on 5 July 2010.

Publications

*''Blowing Our Bridges: A Memoir from Dunkirk to Korea via Normandy'' (Leo Cooper Ltd, 2004) *"Self-training for Senior Officers" in ''Military Review: Professional Journal of the US Army'', August 1966, 3–11

Honours

, 1944 *

(U.S. decoration), 1952 *

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, 1969 *Colonel Commandant,

Corps of Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

, 15 April 1974

References

External links

Korean War MedalsBlowing Our Bridges at amazon.comKandyan Chiefs

Imperial War Museum Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Younger, Allan Elton 1919 births 2010 deaths People educated at Gresham's School Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Royal Engineers officers British Army major generals Academics of the Royal College of Defence Studies British Army personnel of World War II Officers of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Foreign recipients of the Silver Star British Army personnel of the Korean War Academics of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley