Elizabeth Ann Young, Lady Kennet, in the 1940s

Elizabeth Young, Baroness Kennet (née Adams; 14 April 1923 – 30 November 2014) was a British writer, researcher, poet, artist, campaigner, analyst and questioning commentator.

Life

Elizabeth Ann Young, Lady Kennet, was born in London on 14 April 1923, the only daughter of Captain Bryan Fullerton Adams DSO (22 July 1887 – 22 September 1971), and his first wife Audrey Marshall (12 June 1898 – 11 July 1929). When she was a small child, the family moved about with her father to his naval appointments. When he retired from the Navy, he was appointed Naval expert to the Disarmament Section of the League of Nations in Geneva. Her first school was a French school (where she became bilingual in French), her second school was the

International School of Geneva The International School of Geneva (in French: ''Ecole Internationale de Genève''), also known as "Ecolint" or "The International School", is a private, non-profit international school based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1924 in the servic ...

("Ecolint"); after that she moved to an English school further up the lane, St George's School, Clarens. She returned to England to attend Downe House, whence she won an Exhibition to Somerville College, Oxford, to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and was awarded a two-year War Degree. After three years in the Women's Royal Naval Service, Young worked with her future brother-in-law Peter Scott in the earliest days of the Severn Wildlife Trust at Slimbridge. In 1948, she married the Hon Wayland Hilton Young, 2nd Baron Kennet (2 August 1923 – 7 May 2009), who inherited the title of Baron Kennet in 1960 on the death of his father, the politician Edward Hilton Young, 1st Baron Kennet. His mother was the sculptor

Kathleen Scott Edith Agnes Kathleen Young, Baroness Kennet, FRBS (née Bruce; formerly Scott; 27 March 1878 – 25 July 1947) was a British sculptor. Trained in London and Paris, Scott was a prolific sculptor, notably of portrait heads and busts and als ...

, widow of Captain

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...

of the Antarctic., and daughter of Canon Lloyd Stuart Bruce and his wife Jane (née Skene). Wayland and Elizabeth had one son, William Aldus (Thoby) Young, and five daughters; Easter Russell, educationalist; the sculptor

Emily Young Emily Young FRBS (born 1951) is a sculptor, who has been called "Britain's greatest living stone sculptor". She was born in London into a family of artists, writers and politicians. She currently divides her time between studios in London and It ...

; Mopsa English, educationalist; the writer

Louisa Young Louisa Young is a British novelist, songwriter, short-story writer, biographer and journalist, whose work has appeared in 32 languages. By 2023 she had published seven novels under her own name and five with her daughter, the actor Isabel Adomak ...

, aka children's author Zizou Corder, and artist, writer, environmentalist and videographer Zoe Young. Lady Kennet had twelve grandchildren and one great grandchild, and lived in London. She spent her last few years writing a new book entitled Preemptive Mourning, which will be posthumously published. She continued to draw the view from her window, compose haikus, and blog until close to the end. A collection of her poems and drawings will be produced by her descendants.

Works

On marrying, Young began writing, starting with an article for ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' on the Island of Giglio in 1950. She continued to write on a wide range of mostly political issues, especially on

disarmament Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as ...

, arms control and

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prin ...

affairs, but also on other subjects such as churches in Old London Churches (John Betjeman's Book of the Year), and Italy in Northern Lazio (winner of the 1990 European Federation Tourist Press Book Prize) both co-written with Wayland Young. Her book of poems ''Time is as Time Does'' was published in 1958, and was

Geoffrey Grigson Geoffrey Edward Harvey Grigson (2 March 1905 – 25 November 1985) was a British poet, writer, editor, critic, exhibition curator, anthologist and naturalist. In the 1930s he was editor of the influential magazine ''New Verse'', and went on to p ...

's Poetry Book of the Year. Following the publication of Old London Churches, a threat to Christ Church Spitalfields led her to set up and run the Hawksmoor Committee, chaired by John Betjeman. At roughly the same time, she was asked by

Arthur Koestler Arthur Koestler, (, ; ; hu, Kösztler Artúr; 5 September 1905 – 1 March 1983) was a Hungarian-born author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest and, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria. In 1931, Koestler join ...

and Paul Ignotus to set up the Tibor Dery Committee, to promote the release of imprisoned Hungarian writers. Both committees were successful in their aims. Young was also an active member of many boards and organisations including the Advisory Board for Redundant Churches; the Advisory Committee for the Protection of the Sea; the

Royal United Services Institution The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi), registered as Royal United Service Institute for Defence and Security Studies and formerly the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, is a British defence and security think tank. ...

'; the

Royal Institute for International Affairs Chatham House, also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is an independent policy institute headquartered in London. Its stated mission is to provide commentary on world events and offer solutions to global challenges. It is ...

;

Chatham House Chatham House, also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is an independent policy institute headquartered in London. Its stated mission is to provide commentary on world events and offer solutions to global challenges. It is ...

; the

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England. The 2017 Global Go To Think ...

; as well as contributing to various ''ad hoc'' political and conservationist groups – most recently the Stonehenge Alliance which has so far successfully protected the World Heritage Site from ill-considered road schemes. Despite being neither American nor a scientist, she was an honorary member of the Federation of American Scientists.

Bibliography

Books * ''Old London Churches'', (with Wayland Young), Faber and Faber, 1956 * ''Time is as Time Does'', Putnam, 1958 * ''Nations and Nuclear Weapons'', 1963 * ''Farewell to Arms Control?'', Pelican, 1972 * ''London's Churches – A Visitor's Companion'', (with Wayland Young), Grafton Books, 1986 * ''Northern Lazio – An Unknown Italy'', (with Wayland Young), John Murray, 1990 Articles/Contributions * ''Vogue – May: Island of Giglio (Article)'', 1950 * ''Botteghe Oscure – Poems: 'At the Back Door' '', 1958 * ''BBC Television: Seven Deadly Sins – No.1 Anger, No.3 Lust'', 1960 * ''The Socialist Imagination'' (with Wayland Young),

Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. T ...

, 1960 (pamphlet) * ''Disarmament: Finnegan's Choice'' (with Wayland Young), Fabian Society, 1961 (pamphlet) * ''Nations and Nuclear Weapons''(with Wayland Young), Fabian Society, 1963 (pamphlet) * ''Japan Association of Current English – (Article)'', 1967 * ''The Control of Proliferation: the 1968 Treaty in Hindsight and Forecast (Adelphi Paper, no.56, 155)'', 1969 * ''Foreign Affairs – October. To Guard the Sea'', 1971 * ''Pacem in Maribus: Arms Control and Disarmament for the Oceans'', 1972 * ''Settanta 22: La Difesa Delle Acque'', 1972 * ''Still No Disarmament'', Fabian Tract 423, 1973 * ''Ministry of Defence – Memorandum: Offshore Tapestry Colloquium'', 1974 * ''Journal of International Studies (LSE) – Millenium: Article'', 1976 * ''ACOPS Memorandum: Report from Expenditure Committee of House of Commons – Measures to Prevent Collisions in Waters Around UK'', 1978 * ''Greenwich Forum Conference: 200 Mile Exclusive Fisheries Limit'', 1976 * ''RUSI Journal – Policing Offshore'', 1977 * ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists – (Book Reviews)'', 1978 * ''Survival'', 1978 * ''The World Today: Jurisdiction at Sea'', 1978 * ''Britisk Synspunkt: The Stavanger Aftenblad'', 1978 * ''Socialist Commentary: Disarmament – New Hope'', 1978 * ''Revue de Defense Nationale – Avril: Les Sovietiques et L'Ocean Arctique'', 1982 * ''Ulisse: Lazio Segreto'', 1983 * ''Marine Policy – Review of North Sea Management'', 1985 * ''Architectural Design – July. (Article)'', 1986 * ''Commonwealth Journal – (Review)'', 1987 * ''Vitterbo – Prince of Wales Summer School'' (Historical Background) * ''Journal of Architectural Conservation'' Christ Church Spitalfields and Nicholas Hawksmoor (Articles)'', 1995 * ''Defence Review – Whose NATO Is It Anyway?'' (Article – with Wayland Young), 1997 * ''Journal of Architectural Conservation – November. Stonehenge: The Saga Continues'' (Article – with Wayland Young), 2000 * ''Memorandum on Missile Defence to Foreign Affairs Committee on Global Security: Non-Proliferation'', 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Elizabeth, Lady Kennet 1923 births 2014 deaths Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford People educated at Downe House School English women poets 20th-century English poets 20th-century English women writers Chatham House people

Kennet Kennet may refer to: Places in the United Kingdom *Kennet, Clackmannanshire, Scotland People *Baron Kennet, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom * D. Mark Kennet (born 1957), American economist *Josh Kennet (born 1987), English-Israel ...

International School of Geneva alumni