LIVES WELL LIVED
inchester was the biggest formative
‘ W influence of my life . Anything is acceptable . You can be an intellectual , or a sportsman , and be respected for it . It made me extremely open-minded on all sorts of issues , because we were not taught any politics at all , but we were taught to question everything ’, and ‘ … even then , when games were everything in schools , you could be a butterfly fancier at Winchester and hold your head up high ’.
This is a quotation from my father , George Younger ( F , 1945-49 and Warden , 1997-2003 ), the 4 th Viscount Younger of Leckie , who with these words sums up familial sentiments across the generations ( see his biography ‘ A Life Well Lived ’ by David Torrance ).
However , it was another George , the 1 st Viscount Younger of Leckie , sometime MP for Ayr ( d . 1929 ), who first selected Winchester for his son , my great-grandfather James Younger ( F , 1893-99 ).
In the absence of records , the decision might have been an influence from his namesake , ( not kinsman ), William Johnston Younger ( C , 1881-1885 ). In the Register there are two parallel family lines of fifth generation Youngers , numbering 31 in total .
Charles Younger commemorated in War Cloister
Letters written during WWII by Teddy Younger ( F , 1920-25 ) 3rd Viscount of Leckie
My own line was fortunate not to wither : my great-grandfather was badly wounded in WWI but survived as the second Viscount . His brother Edward , a Harrovian ( for which he has been forgiven !) died in 1901 in the second Boer War ; a second brother Charles , ( F , 1899-1904 ) died at Ypres in 1917 .
James Younger ’ s sons , Teddy ( F , 1920-25 ), the 3 rd Viscount , and Kenneth ( F , 1922-27 ), who became a senior Labour MP , carried the Wykehamical flag onwards . I discovered only in 2016 a treasure trove of 795 letters written by Teddy to my grandmother during the 1939-45 war , along with his personal memoir .
In the latter he writes of his time at school : ‘ My complete period at Winchester was probably the most inspiring , the most profitable , and the most enjoyable period of my life before marriage .
‘ Intellectually , it was a considerable challenge , but the standard of teaching was so high that it could produce results even from the least promising material . The striving for perfection was not confined to intellectual achievement , but covered the whole life of the school , self-discipline , appreciation of the arts , religion , personal relationships , a wide range of sports , the attractions of military and other public service . 23