Mark Aitchison Young
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Sir Mark Aitchison Young GCMG |
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| 21st Governor of Hong Kong | |
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In office 6 September 1941 – 25 December 1941 |
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| Monarch | George VI |
| Preceded by | Norman Lockhart Smith (Acting Administrator) |
| Succeeded by | Takashi Sakai (under Japanese occupation) |
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In office 1 May 1946 – 17 July 1947 |
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| Monarch | George VI |
| Preceded by | Sir Cecil Harcourt (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | David Mercer MacDougall (as Administrator) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
30 June 1886 British Raj |
| Died | 12 May 1974 (aged 87) Winchester, England, United Kingdom |
| Spouse(s) | Josephine Mary |
| Alma mater | King's College, Cambridge |
| Profession | soldier, colonial administrator |
Sir Mark Aitchison Young GCMG (楊慕琦, 30 June 1886 – 12 May 1974) was a British administrator who became the Governor of Hong Kong during the years immediately before and after the Japanese occupation of the territory.
Young was educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge. He entered the Ceylon Civil Service in 1909 and served in the British Army with the Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) during World War I from 1915.
Young served as principal assistant colonial secretary of Ceylon from 1923 to 1928, then as colonial secretary of Sierra Leone from 1928 to 1930. From 1930 to 1933, he served as chief secretary to the Government of the British Mandate of Palestine.
From 5 August 1933 to March 1938, he served as governor and commander-in-chief of Barbados. From November 1937 to February 1938, he served in the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. Then from 1938 to 1941, he served as governor and commander-in-chief of the Tanganyika Territory British Mandate.
He served as Governor of Hong Kong between 1941 and 1947. During his term, which coincided with the Pacific theatre of World War II, Hong Kong came under the threat of Japanese invasion.
At 08:00, 8 December 1941, several hours after Pearl Harbor was attacked, Hong Kong came under fire by Imperial Japanese Forces. The battle lasted for 17 days, and ended when Young surrendered the colony to the Japanese General Takashi Sakai on 25 December, known as the 'Black Christmas' by Hong Kong people, who were then subject to Japanese rule for the next 3 years and 8 months. Young rebuffed several attempts by General Maltby and others in the military to ask for terms and discuss surrender as early as the 18th. This was in part based on clear instruction by Churchill directly to Young, advising him that "Every Part of (Hong Kong) Island must be fought over and the enemy resisted with the utmost stubbornness. Every day that you are able to maintain your resistance you help the Allied cause all over the world."
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