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YOUNG,
Harold George (1921-1989) was born on 24 June 1921
and was Chief Executive of Catering Division and a
main board director from 1965 to 1981. He died
after an illness on 28 November 1989. From the
1940s he was at the forefront of catering within
Lyons and merged the teashops and Corner Houses
into a single entity. After the war the super
restaurant era declined and Harold Young was
instrumental in designing smaller units such as the
Restful Tray and the Wimpy's. In the mid 1950s he
became the first general manager of a major
catering outlet (Oxford Corner House), a position
previously held only by members of the Salmon and
Gluckstein families. From the Oxford Corner House
he moved to the Strand and Coventry Street Corner
Houses to carry out fundamental changes in
management and to develop further smaller catering
projects within the large restaurants. The Chicken
Fayre, The Seven Stars, The Piccadilly and the
Bacon and Egg became household names. The 1960s saw
the combining of these Corner Houses and the
Throgmorton Restaurant under his leadership. The
speciality restaurant idea was developed further
with the London Steak Houses. His successful
tendering led to outside catering being undertaken
at Heathrow and Gatwick airports and in a number of
stately homes. Harold Young's ultimate catering
role was to assume the chairmanship of Town &
County Catering and responsibility for the Royal
garden parties. His service to the Royal Household
was later recognised by being made a Commander of
the Royal Victorian Order. It was as head of Town
& County Catering that he secured the contract
to provide the catering at the All England Lawn
Tennis Club, Wimbledon. Outside catering he was
chairman of Normand Ltd, the Lyons motor
subsidiary. He left a widow, Elsie, and four
children.
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