The Extraordinary Contributions of Sir Colville Young  

We have brought countless features of outstanding individuals to you over the years. Today we attempt to encapsulate the prolific life and contributions of a man who has served Belize in many roles, as educator, musical composer, writer and poet, sports enthusiast, patron of the scouts, and perhaps the role for which he is most endeared – as Belize’s second Governor General. Sir Colville Norbert Young was born on November twentieth, 1932. He received his degrees from the University of the West Indies in 1961 and the University of York in 1971. He married Lady Norma Young in 1956, and their union produced four children: Colville Junior, Maureen, Lynn and Carlton. Before his twenty-eight-year service as Governor General, Sir Colville composed many musical pieces and wrote seven Belizean short stories, including the famous Pataki Full. In this edition of Kolcha Tuesday, we bring you a glimpse of the many contributions of this exemplary Belizean, Sir Colville Young. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

He was appointed as the Governor-General in 1993, taking office on November seventeenth of that year. In 1994, he was knighted with the title of Sir. He held the position of Governor-General for twenty-eight years, until he retired in 2021. But there is so much more to add to the name of Sir Colville Young. His accomplishments and contributions to Belize’s growth and development are many. Those contributions have been made in music, literature, academia, culture, social outreach and sports. For those who didn’t know, Sir Colville was the founding president of Belize’s national university, then known as the University College of Belize, where he was a lecturer until his appointment as Governor General. In 2005, one of the few occasions when he gave a speech, he shared profound thoughts about the issue of poverty and the solution to that problem.

 

Sir Colville Young, Former Governor General

“My friends, the greatest single cause of human misery on our planet is surely poverty and admittedly, the surest remedy for poverty is economic growth and a fair sharing among the people of our country of the fruits of economic growth.”

During his tenure as Governor General, Sir Colville Young worked with four of Belize’s prime ministers. One of them, Said Musa, whom he taught at Saint Michael’s College, said he simply had to keep Sir Colville as G-G.

 

Said Musa, Former Prime Minister

“When I became prime minister in 1998, I had to make a decision whether or not to retain Sir Colville. I had no hesitation keeping him as our governor-general because I considered him, and I still do, as a person of high integrity, honesty, and discretion.”

 

On Sir Colville’s retirement, his second son, Lynn Young, sat down with News Five and shared with us what it was like growing up with Sir Colville as a father.

 

Lynn Young, Son of Sir Colville Young

“We had two very good parents, and I think we took it for granted. I think it’s after we grew up then we realized that we really had special parents and perhaps part of it was that they were both teachers, so they both knew how to motivate and they were both good teachers. My father taught both Said Musa and Dean Barrow so my joke with him is he’s responsible for the sad state of politics in Belize sometimes, but that’s another story. (chuckles)”

 

When Sir Colville was appointed Governor-General of Belize, Lynn and all his siblings were already grown and living their own lives. He said his father did not hesitate to take on the new role in his life.

 

Lynn Young

“He has a tremendous love for the country. I’d have to say that he came from the kind of make that the George Prices and Philip Goldsons came from. I don’t know what it was around that time, but the country before everything else, right, so if he’s called on to serve, even now when we talk to him about retirement, he was very reluctant because he said he can serve and he felt he should serve. So for him it was not so much the honour but the opportunity to serve and also to make a difference.”

 

Prior to his retirement, Sir Colville composed several musical pieces, including the folk-opera “Tiger Dead,” the “Ode to Independence,” the Misa Caribeña, and one special piece for the first visit of Queen Elizabeth the Second in 1986, titled Welcome to Belize, Oh Queen Elizabeth.  Sir Colville’s love for music was such that he used his office as Governor-General to push the teaching of music in schools. For many years he, donated wind instruments to primary schools across the country. His literary works include Creole Proverbs of Belize, From One Caribbean Corner, and all-time favorites: Pataki Full, Snapshots of Belize and the play, Riding Haas from the Ping Wing Juk Me series. Sir Colville was also a patron of the Scout Association of Belize, who named their new headquarters the Sir Colville N. Young Building. It is an honor fitting for a great Belizean who has etched his mark on so much of the Belizean landscape. Marion Ali for News Five.