James Young

I was probably James's oldest friend having gone to school with him from the age of 8 until 18. We were born on the same day in 1950. We lived about a mile apart in Banbury and met up on our bikes to cycle the remaining 2 miles to school. Imagine 9 year olds being allowed to cycle to school on fairly busy roads today! We went to Overthorpe Hall Pre...more

How sad to hear this news. I first met James in December 1968 when we were waiting for our interview at Pembroke, I luckily was ahead of him so the ordeal passed first for me. We were good friends throughout Oxford, and everything that has been written about him in these pages chimes with my memory, from his love of Bach to his great ability as ...more

1978 John when about 9 months old and I stayed with James. What I most remember is John chuckling and giggling every time the tap was turned on and off and James constantly amusing him, timing the turn off for maximum suspense and delight

I was one of James' (many!) students and joined the Law School in 2003. He taught me public law and was one of those who set my mind to making a career from academia. He was always generous with his time and patience as we all wrangled with the difficult concepts of constitutional law. He was quite often a feature in the student newspaper, with co...more

A protective brother. Although an annoying younger sister James would often include me in cricket practice, sometimes resulting in lumps on my head. But he was usually more protective! He remembered rocking my pram when I was crying in the garden and he can have only been at most 4. He got very suspicious of potential boyfriends and certainly took ...more

A few anecdotes and memories come to mind when I think of James, sorry for the random ramblings. Testing me on a famous five book I'd just read aged about 6 or 7 as he didn't believe I'd read it so quickly. Helping me with GCSE German homework despite denying that he knew any German; he did, just not to his own high standards. His amazing linguist...more

One thing that really comes to mind when I think about James is from when I was about 10 and for many years after, whenever he came to ours at Christmas we would watch The Muppets Christmas Carol, sometimes more than once. I don’t even know if he enjoyed the film but he always watched it with me and was happy to do so. He was always happy to do thi...more

Thank you James for loving me and my three boys . Excepting all of us for our differences as well as always seeing our strengths, even when we struggled to see our own. Your listening and reassurance made me feel so safe and loved. The extra time I had with you when Nana lived in Clodock was so special. Always a relief having a cuppa with you and ...more

These are sad days...so much going on. I heard the really sad news of James on my birthday. It was not only a real downer but a total shock to the system, so condolences and prayer for God's touch during this time. He is now in good hands with our Lord and Saviour

Listening to a repeat radio adaptation of Dostoevsky's The Idiot I regretted not being able to discuss it with James. In our teens and early adult life we shared our interests in literature so much that in later life we'd both claim the other had signposted a particular author or book. With music too, though I was less knowledgeable or immersed tha...more

Dearest James, From babysitting me to Pingu to helping me with University applications. The kindness, generosity and love you showed my family and me was so important to us. You helped Cardiff become our home. You donated us our first family dining table, where you sat with us throughout the years. I will miss your chuckle around the dinner table a...more

I'm James's elder sister, so I've known him from his birth. We had a happy childhood together.

When I arrived in Cardiff in March 1993 after a long bus journey from Prague, a gentleman took me for a drink in the evening. It was James and, while being the most helpful and kindest person helping me with all sorts of things during my first stay at university, he tried to introduce me to the local ales and beers in the coming weeks. When I confe...more

I met James 26 years ago while visiting Cardiff, when he rescued Jiri and me from staying in a tiny little student room and generously offered to stay in his house. Our friendship grew and we felt he was part of our family, kind , generous , loving and always ready to help. I have so many lovely and unforgettable memories, from having long conver...more

Maddy Pribanova

Romans 8:31-39 If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died – more than...more

I worked at Cardiff Law School with James from 1999 to 2014. I’ll long remember his wit, gentle humour and smile. At lunchtime he’d be leaning on the reception desk, working on the cryptic crossword. Occasionally I’d get a clue, but mostly he’d patiently explain the reasoning behind a few so that I got a little better every day. A gentleman.

I first met James as a fellow volunteer at Cardiff Foodbank. He came to City Church as 'driver's mate to help deliver food. He was a quiet, unassuming man with a dry sense of humour and a charming smile. It is only after reading these tributes that I realise quite how unassuming. Yet when he arrived at the church door with Nick, he was perfectly ha...more

My absolute condolences to you all. James was a wonderful little friend who I loved dearly. I do miss him at our foodbank distribution centre.

Share Bower

As one of the managers in Cardiff Foodbank, and on their behalf, I can say it was an absolute privilege to have him volunteer with us. He understood what we were about and had a real compassion for people in need. He loved to hang around for a chat and was always thoughtful about what he said. We loved to gently tease him too, and when he smiled it...more

Thanks to James I was made to feel very welcome when I first arrived in Cardiff Law School as a young lecturer. He was so kind and always had found to listen

James was an appreciated colleague at Cardiff Law School who joined the Editorial Board of the Journal of Law and Society in 1987. He specialised in public law and international public law. However, he had a spread of legal and social interests that allowed him to comment on a wide range of articles submitted to the JLS. James was a 'considered' pe...more

I met James through the Cardiff Foodbank where we both volunteered. I was driving the van and James was my ‘driver’s mate’. We used to collect donations from various superstores and make deliveries to some of the Foodbank’s Distribution Centres, where James seemed to know all of the volunteers working there. We used to discuss a lot of things whi...more

James was a lovely, warm-hearted, generous person. We had known each other and been friends for more than forty years. There are many happy memories, including the Australians at Worcester, the West Indians at Swansea and India at Old Trafford. Cricket was a constant throughout those years, talking (generally accompanied by a glass or three of red ...more

I first got to know James when he contrived to get me an invitation to dinner with an eminant judge. I was a PhD student at the time and being at that dinner opened so many doors. From that day on James was a great friend, generous with his time and knowledge and always interested. I will miss his gentle friendship.

James was the first friend I made when I started at the Law Department in UWIST. He had already been there for a few years and he was among the bright new intake who took the Department into its first major expansion since its creation not too many years previously. Even since, he was a mainstay of the law department throughout its various evolut...more

Below is the reading Polly and I picked for the funeral we originally planned we'd have. James' faith was rekindled in later life having lost it when our younger brother died in his first year at high school. Often very reticent about talking about his faith he became less so and in the months before he died was taking steps towards finding a chur...more

I meet James when he came to volunteer for Cardiff Foodbank. I was the Distribution Manager and I was the person who paired him up with Nick on the van. I remember asking James if he was happy to accompany a gentleman called Nick on the van and his response was “ yes I am fine with gentlemen called Nick “ James was passionate about the work that C...more

Will miss our chats about cricket.your knowledge of the game was incredible and whenever I saw you around the law school you always stopped and updated me on players stats etc R.I.P james

James was not only a valued colleague at Cardiff University, but also a good friend. When I first came to UWIST in 1980 as a beginning academic, it was James who took me under his wing and made me feel welcome. We worked together on the Erasmus programme, and we had several good trips to France together. My two abiding memories of those Erasmus tri...more

James was a very good friend, as soon as I joined the Law School in 1999. His quiet manner, and his knowledge of a great many things intrigued me. For many, many years we struggled with the Daily Telegraph cryptic crossword on a daily basis, and I always felt he had the answer and was pushing me towards the solution. His lunchtime would often find ...more

Rest in peace.

I first met James on my first week-end at Pembroke College in October 1971. We became friends then, and colleagues at Cardiff a few years later. For much of almost thirty years, I suspect we saw each other almost daily, lunching together frequently. I shall remember and give thanks for the pleasure of his company, his conversation and his learning....more

James and I first met shortly after I arrived at Cardiff in 1995. He quickly realised I was a fellow cricket fan and we spent much time over the coming years talking about test matches and sharing our admiration of certain players. Over the years we taught together, published together and attended international cricket matches together. A gentlem...more

I was very saddened to hear of James' passing. He was a wonderful colleague, kind and funny. A true gentleman. My heartfelt condolences to his family.

I remember a quiet, thoughtful and serious student with a gentle sense of humour, who subsequently became a valued academic. He will be much missed.

James was so a large part of my life that it is difficult to know what to write, especially while the news of his death is so raw. It was from James that I learned how to listen to music; and that not all recordings of the same piece sound the same; and, on trips with him to the BBC concert hall in Cardiff, that we learned that the most attractive ...more

James was a close friend of my parents from their Cardiff University days and was a familiar figure in my childhood. I have many memories of him - whether this is because we saw him often, or because his visits were always memorable, I'm not sure. Two memories remain particularly strong. The first was probably at some point in the early-mid eightie...more

R.I.P James.

we are all deeply saddened by this news, but it does provide a chance to reflect on the many, many happy memories. James's presence during my childhood was both so frequent and so welcome that he truly felt like 'Uncle James' to my sister and me. I remember him, fondly, as being incredibly patient, engaging, and - above all - really rather silly! H...more

I first met James in the course of implementing an exchange of students and teaching staff between Cardiff University (or UWIST as it then was) and the University of Parma, Italy, prior to the EU Erasmus scheme. With the introduction of the latter, our relationship continued, and on one occasion it was a pleasure to have James as a guest in Italy...more

With James, and with the loss of James, it is difficult to know where to begin to sift through all the fond memories. Several decades of friendship produced so much from him that was heartening, witty and beneficial, whether it be anatomising the latest departmental meeting ( he explained to me once that UWIST had a prize for the person who could i...more

Although I met James only during his academic visits to Prague, I was deeply saddened by his departure because I realised that I lost a very good friend. He was one of those people with whom I was in constant touch despite the impossibility to meet him in person. People living far away, yet so close to our hearts and minds. I, therefore, will not i...more

I met James in 1984 when I joined the Law Department of what was then the University of Wales Institute of Technology: he was very kind to me in those early years in helping me integrate . He took being an academic very seriously: I remember him as a scrupulous thinker who was very widely read and had a fantastic memory for detail. But more than th...more

Always a gentleman. Rest In Peace James

From Dave Campbell I first met James in 1983 or 1984 in Cardiff. We did not see each other a great deal at that time, just met with mutual friends in the pub. He was a lecturer in what became the Cardiff Law School then being formed as part of the merger of University College Cardiff and the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology....more

James was there when I learned to walk, and James continued to be there for all walks of life. He welcomed my family with open arms and remained a close family friend throughout. It was always a pleasure to have James over for dinner, for which he would always arrive distinctly at 6:30pm, straight after The Simpsons. This little arrangement led to...more

We were neighbours with James all too briefly, but during this time we attended street parties and enjoyed many humorous dinner evenings in James' company. He was a true gentleman with a comprehensive understanding of the many things that he enjoyed, particularly cricket, wine and history. He was always kind enough to offer his support or considere...more

I am James’s cousin and remember him best from childhood — in the garden at Bloxham Road, Banbury, on holiday together visiting grandparents in Lowestoft. He dug sand on the beach with ferocious intensity and concentration (we have family cine film to prove it), and even back then was quiet with gentle, deadpan humour. Always trustworthy and reliab...more

I met James when I joined Cardiff Law School in 2013. I can only imagine that I was first introduced to him when he and Dave were tackling a crossword together at the Law Building reception desk – a very comforting sight! James was such a kind and thoughtful man, and it was always a great pleasure to bump into him and enjoy his company for a while....more

I was shocked to hear that James had passed away. He had visited me in hospital not so long ago as I recovered from meningitis and we planned to meet for lunch as soon as I had undergone a hip replacement operation. James and I shared rooms in our first year at Pembroke, and became firm friends. We shared a keen interest in choral music. He had a ...more

It is so lovely to read all the comments again. James always made such an effort with all of us nephew and nieces. The way he always got me thinking and inquiring about subjects I usually didn’t know anything about and his caring chats will always be missed. Thanks for being such a great uncle you live on in all our hearts.