Memoirs
Pip was born in 1924 in Hunstanton, Norfolk, to William Robert and Phyllis Youngman. He had an older brother, Anthony, and sister, Hilary. He also had a younger half-brother from his father's second marriage, but sadly passed away before his half-brother could make contact with the family.
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Pip was always free-thinking and compassionate with a healthy disrespect for authority. Despite being clearly bright, his wont to question the status quo did not endear him to his teachers and his reluctance to shoot animals did not endear him to his father. He
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His working life included everything from being a bell boy in the Ritz hotel, (from which he was fired for being disrespectful to the hated king of Albania, King Zog), to joining the tank regiment during the Second World War, being a candidate for the Campaign for World Government, creating home learning kits for the Open University in Iran, and much more.
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Pip had four children-Tim, Darrell, Caitlin and Suzy (me)- and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
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I will let Pip tell you more, below. He started to write his memoirs whilst he was ill and was sadly unable to complete them, but the start is included here (the chapters are in Word documents in the zip file below).
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Darrell and Tim
Pip's sons Darrell and Tim sadly passed away, in 2013 and 2019 respectively. Their antics easily deserve another website each, but sadly I am not that good at web design!
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Darrell was larger than life and brought a smile to everyone's face. He worked towards the end of his life at Radio Cabs in Yeovil, and was so well liked that his funeral included a miles-long procession of cabs. No one went anywhere in Yeovil that day!
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He was full of passion and his hobbies throughout his life included SCUBA diving, Airsoft shooting, driving trikes, panto, computing and converting an old ambulance (called Nina- as in Ni-na-na-na, get it?) into a campervan. I have fond memories of driving around the Somerset countryside in Nina, blasting out 'Grease' to disturb the local populace!
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He had two sons, Dave and Andy, and five beautiful granddaughters, as well as a step-daughter, Caroline.
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Tim inherited Pip's ingenuity and natural ability with science and engineering, as well as his wanderlust. Tim lived for many years in Thailand, where he passed away in 2019. Tim worked for much of his life in the props department of the BBC, and worked on classics such as the Vicar of Dibley, Red Dwarf and Gavin and Stacey.
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Tim had four daughters and two sons, six grandsons, one granddaughter, and one great-granddaughter.
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Pip and Alison in the Gaudi Park.
From Left to Right- Caitlin, Tim, Pip, Pip's wife Alison, Suzy and Darrell
Making mischief
Pip and Alison in the Gaudi Park.