Gavin David Young (24 April 1928 – 18 January 2001) was a journalist and travel writer.

Early life

He was born in

Bude Bude (, locally or ; Cornish language, Cornish ) is a seaside town in north Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Bude-Stratton and at the mouth of the River Neet (also known locally as the River Strat). It was sometimes formerly known as ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England. His father, Gavin Young, was a lieutenant colonel in the

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WLSH GDS; ), part of the Guards and Parachute Division, Guards Division, is one of the Foot guards, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the World War I, First ...

. Daphne, his mother, was the daughter of Sir Charles Leolin Forestier-Walker, Bt, of

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

. Young spent most of his youth in Cornwall and South Wales. He graduated from Oxford University, where he studied modern history.

Career

Young spent two years with the Ralli Brothers shipping company in Basra in Iraq before living with the

Marsh Arabs The Marsh Arabs (Arabic: عرب الأهوار ʻArab al-Ahwār "Arabs of the Marshlands"), also referred to as Ahwaris, the Maʻdān (Arabic: معدان "dweller in the plains") or Shroog ( "those from the east")—the latter two often conside ...

of southern Iraq between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. He fashioned his experiences into a book, ''Return to the Marshes'' (1977). In 1960, from Tunis, he joined ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' of London as a foreign correspondent and was the ''Observer'''s correspondent in Paris and New York. He had covered fifteen wars and revolutions throughout the world and worked for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and was a travel writer.

Personal life

Young died in London on 18 January 2001; he was 72 years old.

Selected works

*''Return to the Marshes: Life with the Marsh Arabs of Iraq'', 1977 - travels with the

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

(photographs by Nik Wheeler) *''Iraq: Land of Two Rivers'', 1980 - travels in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

*''Slow Boats to China'', 1981 - travel round the world by

water transport Maritime transport (or ocean transport) or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by watercraft has been widely used throughout recorded history, as it pr ...

(part 1) ** US edition: ''Halfway Around the World: An Improbable Journey'', 1981 *''Slow Boats Home'', 1985 - travel round the world by water transport (part 2) *''Worlds Apart'', 1987 - a collection of journalistic articles *''Beyond Lion Rock'', 1987 - the story of Cathay Pacific Airways *"Introduction" to a new edition of ''Uttermost Part of the Earth'' by Lucas Bridges, 1987 *''In Search of Conrad'', 1991 - retracing the travels of

Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the Eng ...

( Thomas Cook Travel Book Award) *''From Sea to Shining Sea: Present-day Journey into America's Past'', 1996 *''A Wavering Grace: A Vietnamese Family in War and Peace'', 1997 – a Vietnamese family in war and peace *''Eye on the World'', 1999 - celebrating a lifetime of travel

References

1928 births 2001 deaths British travel writers People from Bude {{UK-journalist-stub

Early life

Career

Personal life

Selected works

See also

References