Young was born on November 19, 1919 in North Shields, Northumberland, England. He was raised in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was married to Mary Anne Grimes from 1941 until they divorced in 1947. Then he was married to Virginia McCurdy from 1948 until they divorced in 1995. With Grimes he had two children and with McCurdy he had two. He was then married to his third wife Mary Chipman from 1996 to 1997.