Gavin Young
Encyclopedia
Gavin David Young was born in Bude
, Cornwall
, England. His father, Gavin Young, was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Welsh Guards
. Daphne, his mother, was the daughter of Sir Charles Leolin Forestier-Walker, Bt
, of Monmouthshire
. Young spent most of his youth in Cornwall and South Wales. He graduated from Oxford University, where he studied modern history.
Young spent two years with the Ralli Brothers
shipping company in Basra, Iraq before living with the Marsh Arabs
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
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
and was a travel writer. Gavin Young died in London on January 18, 2001. He was 72 years old.
Bude
Bude is a small seaside resort town in North Cornwall, England, at the mouth of the River Neet . It lies just south of Flexbury, north of Widemouth Bay and west of Stratton and is located along the A3073 road off the A39. Bude is twinned with Ergué-Gabéric in Brittany, France...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, England. His father, Gavin Young, was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Welsh Guards
Welsh Guards
The Welsh Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division.-Creation :The Welsh Guards came into existence on 26 February 1915 by Royal Warrant of His Majesty King George V in order to include Wales in the national component to the Foot Guards, "..though the order...
. Daphne, his mother, was the daughter of Sir Charles Leolin Forestier-Walker, Bt
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
, of Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire is a county in south east Wales. The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire which covered a much larger area. The largest town is Abergavenny. There are many castles in Monmouthshire .-Historic county:...
. Young spent most of his youth in Cornwall and South Wales. He graduated from Oxford University, where he studied modern history.
Young spent two years with the Ralli Brothers
Ralli Brothers
The five Ralli brothers, Zannis a.k.a. John , Augustus ,Pandia a.k.a. Zeus ,Toumazis , and...
shipping company in Basra, Iraq before living with the Marsh Arabs
Marsh Arabs
The Marsh Arabs , also known as the Maʻdān , are inhabitants of the Tigris-Euphrates marshlands in the south and east of Iraq and along the Iranian border....
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
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
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
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and was a travel writer. Gavin Young died in London on January 18, 2001. He was 72 years old.
Selected works
- Return to the Marshes: Life with the Marsh Arabs of Iraq, 1977 - travels with the Marsh ArabsMarsh ArabsThe Marsh Arabs , also known as the Maʻdān , are inhabitants of the Tigris-Euphrates marshlands in the south and east of Iraq and along the Iranian border....
of IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
(photographs by Nik WheelerNik WheelerNik Wheeler is a British-born photographer, known for taking what for years was the only known photograph of Carlos the Jackal. He began his career as a photojournalist during the Vietnam War....
) - Iraq: Land of Two Rivers, 1980 - travels in MesopotamiaMesopotamiaMesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
- Slow Boats to China, 1981 - travel round the world by water transport
- Halfway Around the World: An Improbable Journey, 1983
- Slow Boats Home, 1985 - travel round the world by water transport
- 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 BridgesLucas BridgesEsteban Lucas Bridges was an Anglo-Argentine author and explorer. He was the third child and second son of Anglican missionary Reverend Thomas Bridges and "the third white native of Ushuaia" at the southernmost tip of South America...
, 1987 - In Search of Conrad, 1991 (Thomas Cook Travel Book AwardThomas Cook Travel Book AwardThe Thomas Cook Travel Book Award originated as an initiative of Thomas Cook AG in 1980, with the aim of encouraging and rewarding the art of literary travel writing. The awards stopped in 2005...
) - 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