Obituary: memories of Chingford historian David Young

A former joint secretary and chairman of the society in the 1980s, many members will recall Mr Young for the annual Essex mystery coach outings when nobody knew where they were going until they were all on board.

Society chairman Gary Stone said: “One of our favourite lectures was when he built a little cabin cruiser in his front garden.

"With help from a friend, he and his wife Lilli managed to get the boat down to the River Lea.

"They then took it all the way to Cambridge via different rivers, some of which had not been properly maintained for many years.

"The journey took two weeks so they had to leave the boat there when it was time to return to Chingford and go back to work.”

David Young was a member of Chingford Historical Society for more than 40 years

David Arthur Young was born in 1927 and lived in Frankland Road, South Chingford.

A pupil at New Road School and then Wellington Avenue Senior School, he was able to take a post-11-plus exam, which he passed and was accepted into the technical colleague in Forest Road, Walthamstow.

Mr Young chose to study engineering, but left the college when he was 16 and was offered a job at the Ever Ready battery manufacturers in Forest Road.

A life-long member of various organisations including the Youth Hostel Association, he once applied to become a hostel warden on the north coast of Scotland.

Mr Stone said: “To get there he went all the way on his bicycle, complete with rucksack and paniers containing everything he thought he might need for the next six months.

“The journey of around 1,000 miles took him two weeks and he stayed at hostels along the way. Only once did he need to take public transport.”

Mr Young then applied to become a technician at Queen Mary College, University of London, and after three years became chief technician.

He met his wife Lilli during his time with the Chingford branch of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. She was Jewish and had come to London from Germany as a refugee just before the Second World War to train as a teacher.

The couple married in 1961, having taken possession of their house in Whitehall Road, Chingford, the day before their wedding.

David Young with the living sundial

Mr Young had been interested in sundials since a young age and eventually co-founded the British Sundial Society in 1989.

Eleven years later and as a Millennium project at Easton Lodge, Great Dunmow in Essex, Mr Young helped with the design and installation of a living sundial, which is still thriving and has grown to more than twice his height.

Mr Young’s wife died in March 2006, but he retained a interest in the historical society and delivered his last lecture when he was over 90.

David Young died peacefully at a care home in Woodford Green on May 26, 2020, at the age of 93.