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 ...

Sir Arthur Edwin Young (15 February 1907 – 20 January 1979) was a British police officer. He was Commissioner of Police of the City of London from 1950 to 1971 and was also the first head of the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the ...

to be styled Chief Constable. Young was instrumental in the creation of the post of Chief Inspector of Constabulary. In the early 1950s, Young played a key role in the

decolonisation Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby Imperialism, imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholar ...

of policing in the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. His exit from

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

at the end of 1954 became a political scandal and ''

cause célèbre A ( , ; pl. ''causes célèbres'', pronounced like the singular) is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning, and heated public debate. The term is sometimes used positively for celebrated legal cases for th ...

''. During the 1960s, he led the way in modernising British police recruitment and in improving the training of senior officers. Clive Emsley commented:

Young shared the heroic vision of the British Bobby and was always focussed on the idea that police officers should enjoy good, even friendly relations with the people that they served.

Young gained a reputation as the "policeman's policeman", associated with his concerns for the conditions of work of serving police officers. He liked to use it of himself.

Early life and education

Young was born at 55 Chamberlayne Road, Eastleigh,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, one of four children of Edwin Young (1878–1936), a builder and contractor, and his wife Gertrude Mary (née Brown; 1880–1945). He attended Mayville Preparatory School,

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea began as a f ...

from 1912 to 1915 and then

Portsmouth Grammar School The Portsmouth Grammar School (PGS) is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Portsmouth, England, located in the historic part of Portsmouth. It was founded in 1732 as a Single-sex education, boys' school ...

from 1915 to 1924. Aged sixteen, Young left school to join the Portsmouth Borough Police, against his family's wishes.

Early police career

Portsmouth Police

Young's father's business partner John Henry Corke secured him an initial placement in the office of Chief Constable Thomas Davies in December 1924. Young had the post of cadet clerk. On the advice of the chief constable, he first took a course in business and accountancy. Appointed a

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

in May 1925, he became the coroner's officer in April 1932. In June 1932, aged 25, he became the youngest

detective sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage from the Brit ...

in the United Kingdom, serving with the Northern Division CID. During his time there, he led investigations into

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

and

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

. He headed the enquiries into the UK's first case of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

arising from the use of an aeroplane. Simultaneously, he began to take an ever more prominent involvement in the many royal visits to Portsmouth; when

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I (born Tafari Makonnen or ''Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij, Lij'' Tafari; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, Rege ...

visited the dockyard in September 1937, he acted as his personal escort and French interpreter. During these years, Young was also entrusted with what he later cryptically termed "enquiries concerning the activities of subversive persons and propaganda, and also with other matters affecting state security". It was also during these years that he acquired his passion for ever better police equipment and his personal love of new gadgets. Young was promoted to

inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

in June 1937 and appointed to Portsmouth's Southern Division. In Eastney and

, he gained his first taste of the complexity of the problems created by traffic, of measures to be taken for its efficient control and of the need to promote road safety. A keen motorist (who progressed from a motorcycle to a series of fast cars), he took a pragmatic approach.

Leamington Spa Borough Police

Young wanted to head his own force. After one unsuccessful attempt, for the chief constableship of the Isle of Wight Constabulary, he became acting chief constable of Leamington Spa Borough Police in September 1938, aged 31, at a salary of £500 per annum. One year later, he was appointed to the permanent post of chief constable. In his first nine months in post, he secured an increase of twelve in the force's establishment of 45. He also reorganised the borough's fire brigade. Among other innovations, Young set up twelve of the then new "police pillars". They were a network of two-way microphone handsets across the borough, enabling the public to contact police stations and civil defence posts directly. The base of the pillar contained first aid equipment while, a Leamington innovation, a flashing red light on the top called up policemen on patrol. After the Coventry Blitz of November 1940, Young was seconded by the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

for six months to run the Coventry City Police, the chief constable being fully occupied as civil defence controller. He introduced there a "good neighbour scheme" for civilians who had been bombed out that he had previously set up in Leamington.

Birmingham City Police

Young made several unsuccessful applications for promotion: the East Riding of Yorkshire Constabulary in 1939, Portsmouth City Police in 1940,

Oxford City Police Oxford City Police was the police force of the City of Oxford, England. It policed the city from 1 January 1869 until 31 March 1968. It was established to succeed a "watch and ward" force that had been founded in 1835. On 1 April 1968 it and fo ...

in 1940). In 1941 he was selected as senior assistant chief constable of Birmingham City Police. The chief constable (1941–45) was William Clarence Johnson. It was in Birmingham that Young began with police training. He also established in 1942 a radio telephone system linking police stations and police cars.

Wartime service

In February 1943, Young was one of a number of chief constables seconded to the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

's Civil Affairs Training Centre and attended the first course for senior officers. Before the course was finished, he was transferred to the instructing staff and in June 1943 he was appointed the first commandant of the new Police Civil Affairs Training Centre at Peel House in London (gazetted with the rank of lieutenant-colonel) and charged with the task of setting up the training school for policemen and provost officers. Their duties would be to maintain law and order in

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

territory as it was liberated by Allied forces. Shortly afterwards, Young was promoted

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 ...

, and moved in July 1943 to be senior British police officer in the Mediterranean Theatre. He was stationed in North Africa awaiting the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allies of World War II, Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis p ...

. After the invasion, he worked in the

Allied Control Commission Following the termination of hostilities in World War II, the Allies were in control of the defeated Axis countries. Anticipating the defeat of Germany, Italy and Japan, they had already set up the European Advisory Commission and a proposed Far ...

for Italy. In December 1943 he was given the role of director of the security branch of the Allied Military Government of Occupied Territories. His post with the Control Commission in Italy lasted to 1945. The approaches Young developed in Italy were adapted elsewhere Allied occupied Europe in 1944–1945. He considered his major personal achievement was reorganising the

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...

Post-war police service

Young was appointed Chief Constable of Hertfordshire Constabulary in 1944; but he was not demobilised until 1945. He emphasised pay and conditions for his officers. In 1946 he wrote :"I hold the view that the police organisation is not a police force but a police service, which offers to the right individual not merely a job but all the advantages of a professional career. I believe in doing everything reasonably possible by way of improving the conditions and amenities for all ranks of the service, and in particular in delegating both authority and responsibility to officers according to their rank. Having done this I am prepared to accept nothing but the highest standard of service by way of return." He was appointed by the Home Office to a committee chaired by Sir Percy Sillitoe to consider the wireless needs of all forces. At this period he became re-acquainted with the politician

James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the L ...

, from Portsmouth, now a junior minister at the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

. Young applied unsuccessfully to be chief constable of Kent in 1946. Through Home Secretary

James Chuter Ede James Chuter Chuter-Ede, Baron Chuter-Ede, (; 11 September 1882 – 11 November 1965), was a British teacher, trade unionist and Labour Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for 32 years, and served as the sole Home Secretary u ...

he was appointed in 1947 Assistant Commissioner "D" of the Metropolitan Police in London, in charge of organisation, recruitment, training and communications. Things, however, did not go well, since colleagues shunned him. Then Young was the first former police constable to be appointed Commissioner of Police of the City of London, in March 1950. He held the post to 1971.

Colonial police reforms of the 1950s

In 1948, W. C. Johnson, Young's old chief from Birmingham, was appointed to the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...

, as police advisor to the Colonial secretary. From 1949, he was Inspector-General of Colonial Police. He left that position in 1951 and was succeeded by his assistant George Abbiss. The post was an innovation, created with as its motivations both

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

fear of communist influence, and the wish (clearly signalled and raising concern in colonial forces) to bring colonial policing into line with British practice. Young was sent on colonial missions for police reform. First came a short period in the Gold Coast. The

Convention People's Party The Convention People's Party (CPP) is a socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. The CPP was formed in June 1949 after Nkrumah broke away from the United Gold Coast Convention (UGC ...

was arousing police interest, ahead of the 1951 Gold Coast general election. Young was there in 1950, for two months, with Chief Superintendent Wilson of the Metropolitan Police, and wrote a substantial report for Matthew Collens, the inspector-general of police.

Malaya

In 1952–1953, Young was seconded to the

Federation of Malaya Malaya, officially the Federation of Malaya, was a country in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1963. It succeeded the Malayan Union and, before that, British Malaya. It comprised eleven states – nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settleme ...

as its commissioner of police, during the

Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

. He arrived in February 1952, bringing again Chief Superintendent Wilson who was to train uniformed police. In broad terms

Gerald Templer Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer (11 September 1898 – 25 October 1979) was a senior British Army officer. He fought in both the world wars and took part against the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Pales ...

and Young conformed to the "Briggs Plan", proposed by

Harold Rawdon Briggs Lieutenant General Sir Harold Rawdon Briggs, (24 July 1894 – 27 October 1952) was a senior British Indian Army officer, active during the First World War, Second World War and the Malayan Emergency. Briggs was highly regarded by his superio ...

, for resettling rural Chinese-Malayans. Success was obtained from 1952 onwards in limiting the insurgency. Young chose his successor, William Carbonell, without regard to seniority.

Kenya

In 1954, Young undertook a further secondment, in

as commissioner of police during the

Mau Mau rebellion The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt, or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the Mau Mau, and the ...

. He followed the parliamentary delegation that went to Kenya in January 1954, led by Walter Elliot and Arthur Bottomley, and reported some months later. Oliver Lyttleton, the Colonial Secretary, visited Kenya three times in the period 1952–4, before resigning from the

third Churchill ministry Winston Churchill formed the third Churchill ministry in the United Kingdom following the 1951 United Kingdom general election, 1951 general election. He was reappointed as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by King George VI and oversaw th ...

in July 1954. Young arrived in Kenya in March of that year, and immediately required that policing should be carried out with minimal physical force. Young appointed Duncan MacPherson (1912–1989) from the Royal Hong Kong Police Force as head of CID, to investigate allegations against the army, police and Kikuyu Home Guard. From 1951 CID had been under John Timmerman, a Canadian

RCMP The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

and WWII intelligence officer who was assistant police commissioner, brought in to reorganise it, and who from 1955 worked for the Department of External Affairs in security. The trial on 10 December 1954 for

perjury Perjury (also known as forswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an insta ...

of George Horsfall of the Kenya Police, and Derek Searle of the Reserve, was met by demands for an inquiry from Reserve officers into CID methods. Young resigned after less than eight months. He saw widespread interference of the executive in policing. His resignation letter to Evelyn Baring was suppressed. His replacement was Richard Catling, a sceptic when it came to George Erskine's policy on detention of Kikuyu. He had arrived from Malaya in April as a deputy commissioner and police trainer. John Whyatt, Attorney-General of Kenya and an ally of Young, was made

Chief Justice of Singapore The chief justice of Singapore is the chief justice, presiding member of the Supreme Court of Singapore. It is the highest office in the judicial system of Singapore, appointed by the President of Singapore, president, on the advice of the Prime ...

in 1955. Before leaving Kenya, Young asked MacPherson to compile a concise file of issues with Baring's administration: it was not circulated, but Young used his Anglican contacts to make the content known. Karl Hack reports Young's resignation as driven by the failure to have murders by the Kikuyu Home Guard investigated. He comments also on the differences between Malaya and Kenya, stating that in Young's view efforts to make policing "friendly to the public" initially had failed in the latter, having largely succeeded in the former. On his return to the United Kingdom, Young met privately with the clerical activist Michael Scott and the politician

Barbara Castle Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn, (''née'' Betts; 6 October 1910 – 3 May 2002) was a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament from 1945 United Kingdom general elec ...

. He made no move to publicise his views. The Christian Council of Kenya was split, with

David Steel David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood (born 31 March 1938) is a retired Scottish politician. Elected as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles (UK Parliament constituency), Roxb ...

moved by Young's departure, coupled with a raid on Mombasa's

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

, to preach strongly against Baring's administration in St Andrew's Church,

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

; while Leonard Beecher opposed him. Steel brought the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British Anglican mission society working with Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as ...

(CMS) into his camp. On 22 December 1954, Lord Ogmore asked in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

if the government would make a statement on Young's resignation. Behind the scenes, while talking to the Colonial Office about a

non-disclosure agreement A non-disclosure agreement (NDA), also known as a confidentiality agreement (CA), confidential disclosure agreement (CDA), proprietary information agreement (PIA), or secrecy agreement (SA), is a legal contract or part of a contract between at le ...

, Young briefed against Baring to Kenneth George Grubb of the CMS, and encouraged the CMS missionary Thomas Francis Cecil Bewes to keep up the pressure. Grubb wrote a letter to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', published 22 January 1955. Geoffrey Fisher, the Archbishop of Canterbury, met Baring during December 1954, but Beecher asked him to leave matters to the churches in Kenya. He was in discussions with Frederick Crawford, acting Governor, and considered church leaders bound by undertakings of confidentiality. In the House of Lords on 10 February 1955,

William Jowitt, 1st Earl Jowitt William Allen Jowitt, 1st Earl Jowitt, (15 April 1885 – 16 August 1957) was a British Liberal Party, National Labour and then Labour Party politician and lawyer who served as Lord Chancellor under Clement Attlee from 1945 to 1951. Backg ...

cited a ''Times'' report of the East African Court of Appeal, in which it was stated that the authority of detention teams could not be fathomed in law. He said "It is in that context that I find disquieting the sending out of Colonel Young to investigate the affairs of the police and his coming back for some reason which I do not fully understand." Bottomley challenged the Colonial Secretary, by then Alan Lennox-Boyd, on 16 March 1955 in a House of Commons debate on colonial affairs, stating that "there has been no satisfactory explanation yet of the resignation of Colonel Young". In a 1959 debate on the Hola massacre, Castle accused Lennox-Boyd of repeated cover-ups, and suppression of reports including Young's. She also quoted from MacPherson, who had remained in Kenya for two years after Young had left. He had been told by Young's successor as commissioner of police to stop investigations into camp deaths.

Royal Ulster Constabulary

In November 1969 Young was seconded to be the last inspector-general and the first chief constable of the

, then Home Secretary, sent him to implement the Hunt Report. Young's measures introduced the standard British rank system for police officers in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

and disbanded the

Ulster Special Constabulary The Ulster Special Constabulary (USC; commonly called the "B-Specials" or "B Men") was a quasi-military Military reserve, reserve special constable police force in what would later become Northern Ireland. It was set up in October 1920, short ...

. In his tenure to 1970, he gained the approval of

nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

. Georgina Sinclair has argued that he was overly influenced by arguments put to him by constitutional Irish nationalists.

Views and other positions

Improved pay and conditions and professional standards were Young's constant pre-occupations. Uniforms were made more comfortable and practical. At national level, he ran command courses and saw through a fast-track entry scheme to attract graduates. Young fought for the recruitment and promotion of women. He resisted the traditional placement of military officers into police commands; and opposed Lord Trenchard's approach in his 1932 Commissioner's Report, base on "promoting from within wasn't working", as inappropriate for the British police service. He ran an adroit campaign from 1960 on the police inspectorate, aimed at the Royal Commission on the Police. It dealt with opposition to innovation. Sir Charles Cunningham then blocked Young's selection as the first Chief Inspector of Constabulary. Young chaired the Police Council for the UK, the

Association of Chief Police Officers The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (ACPO) was a not-for-profit private limited company that for many years led the development of policing practices in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Established ...

training centres committee and the education committee of the National Police Fund. He was a governor of the Police College and of

Atlantic College UWC Atlantic (formally the United World College of the Atlantic, and often referred to by its original name, Atlantic College) is an Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent boarding school in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales. Fo ...

, and a member of the committees of the Police Advisory Board, the National Police Fund, the Royal Humane Society, the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

, the National Scout Council, and the Thames Group Hospitals. He was president of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in 1962.

Family

Young married three times. #In 1939, he married Ivy Ada May Hammond (1909–1956), a nurse; they had a son. She had trained at the Royal Portsmouth Hospital, meeting Young there when he was a police constable. #In 1957, he married Margaret Furnival Homan, née Dolphin (died 1966). #In 1970, he married Ileen Fryer Turner (née Rayner). She died on 31 December 2002.

Death

Young died at St Thomas's Hospital, London, on 20 January 1979. After cremation, his ashes were scattered at

Beachy Head Beachy Head is a Chalk Group, chalk headland in East Sussex, England. It is situated close to Eastbourne, East Sussex, Eastbourne, immediately east of the Seven Sisters, Sussex, Seven Sisters. Beachy Head is located within the administrative ar ...

Awards and honours

Young was awarded the King's Police Medal (KPM) in the 1952 New Year Honours. The following year, he was appointed

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(CMG) in the 1953 Coronation Honours "for services as Commissioner of Police,

" and was further appointed

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the ...

(CVO) in the 1962 Birthday Honours. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the 1965 Birthday Honours, and was formally conferred with his knighthood by the Queen at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

on 16 November of that year. For his work in Northern Ireland he was appointed

Knight Commander 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 ...

(KBE) in the 1971 New Year Honours.

Police Long Service and Good Conduct ribbon

British

*1937 King George VI Coronation Medal *1939-45 1939-1945 Star *1939-45 Italy Star *1939-45 Defence Medal *1939-45 War Medal *1951 Officer of the Order of St John (OStJ) *1952 King's Police Medal for Distinguished Service (KPM) - 1952 New Years Honours List. *1953 General Service Medal (bar for Malaya) *1953 Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(CMG) - 1953 Coronation Honours List. *1953

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal () is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir from the Queen to members of the Royal Family ...

*1954 Africa General Service Medal (bar for Kenya & oak palm for mention in despatches) *1962 Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(CVO) - 1962 Queen's Birthday Honours List. *1965

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

- 1965 Queen's Birthday Honours List. *1971 Knight Commander 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 ...

(Civil Division) (KBE) - 1971 New Years Honours List. * Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

Foreign

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

: Commander, Order of Merit *

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

: Commander, Honour Badge for Merit of the Republic (''Silbernes Ehrenzeichen'') *

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

: Commander, Order of the Crown. * Cameroons: Officer,

Order of Valour The Order of Valour is an order of knighthood of Cameroon. History It is regulated by the ordonnance N° 72/24 of 30 November 1972. It is one of the four orders of Cameroon:Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

: Commander,

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

: Commander,

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

. *

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

: Commander,

Order of the White Rose The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official Order (decoration), orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all ...

; Commander, Order of the Lion. *

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

: Medal of the Sûreté Nationale **French colonial: Commander, Order of the Black Star of Benin *

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

: Commander, Order of Merit of the Federal Republic. *

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

: Commander, Royal Order of the Phoenix. *

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

: Knight Commander,

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

: Officer,

Order of the Lion and the Sun The Imperial Order of the Lion and the Sun (Persian language, Persian: نشان سلطنتی شیر و خورشید) was instituted by Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar, Fat’h Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty in 1808 to honour foreign officials (later extend ...

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 ...

: Grand Officer, Order of the Two Rivers (Military Division). *

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

: Grand Officer,

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

: Commander of the National Order of the Ivory Coast *

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

: Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Class.L'Harmattan web site (in French)
/ref> *

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

: Commander, Order of the Star of Jordan *

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

: Knight Commander,

Humane Order of African Redemption The Humane Order of African Redemption, an order (honour), order presented by the government of Liberia, was founded on January 13, 1879 during the presidency of Anthony W. Gardiner. It is awarded for humanitarian work in Liberia, for acts supporti ...

. *

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

: Pingat Khidmat Berbakti (General Service Medal) *

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

: Member 3rd Class, Order of Tri Shakti Patta *

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

: Commander,

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

. *

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

: Commander, National Order of Merit *

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

: Commander,

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 ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

: Grand Officer,

Military Order of Christ The Military Order of Christ is a Honorific orders of Portugal, Portuguese honorific order. It is the former order of Knights Templar as it was reconstituted in Portugal. Before 1910, it was known as the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Chr ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

: Commander, National Order of Merit *

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

: Commander, Order of the Two Niles *

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

: Commander, Order of the Crown. *

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

: Commander, Order of the Republic *

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

: King Gustaf VI Adolf's Gold Merit Medal

References

External links

Photographic portraits of Young in the National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Arthur 1907 births 1979 deaths British Army personnel of World War II Assistant Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis Inspectors-General of the Royal Ulster Constabulary Chief Constables of the Royal Ulster Constabulary British people of the Mau Mau rebellion People educated at The Portsmouth Grammar School Knights Bachelor Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Commanders of the Order of the Lion of Finland Commanders of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece) Recipients of the Order of the Falcon Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Grand Officers of the Order of Christ (Portugal) Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog Members of the Order of Tri Shakti Patta, Third Class English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Recipients of the Order of Valour People from Eastleigh Royal Military Police officers Commissioners of the City of London Police Birmingham City Police People of the National Rifle Association Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Sudan