Brigadier Desmond Young (27 December 1891 – 27 June 1966) was an Australian-born British Army officer, newspaper publisher and writer.

Soon after the beginning of the First World War he joined the British Army, serving as an officer in the King's Royal Rifle Corps.

After the War Young worked as a newspaper reporter, editor and publisher in the South African Cape Times and the Indian Allahabad Pioneer.

Young was captured during the 1942 Battle of Gazala and briefly met the German commander Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.

[2] On 12 September 1914, shortly after the start of the First World War, Young joined the British Army in the temporary rank of second lieutenant.

[2] Having returned to the front, on 26 July 1918, at which point he was on the general list of officers, he was awarded the Military Cross, the citation for which reads: For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty.

Under heavy fire during an enemy attack he assisted in collecting disorganised troops, and organised them into trenches round brigade headquarters.

[8] He rose quickly in rank and held command of the 10th Indian Infantry Brigade during Operation Aberdeen, a 5 June 1942 attack ordered by Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie during the Battle of Gazala.

A counter-attack by the German 21st Panzer Division penetrated the British defences in an area of ground known as The Cauldron and disordered part of Young's brigade.

[15][16] Young's book was adapted by Nunnally Johnson into the 1951 film The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel, with James Mason in the title role.