In his memoirs, Woolton notes that in 1945 he had taken charge of a party that had its "back to the wall", that was defeated, depressed and financially broke. What it needed was an injection of youthful energy.

There had, of course, been Conservative youth organisations before the YCs, but by 1945 these were a ragtag of disparate, defunct or largely ineffective groups. The foremost among them, the Junior Imperial League (the Imps) could boast of 1,900 branches with over 150,000 members in 1930. But at the outbreak of the war, their activities had ceased: young men and women of all parties had more pressing things on their minds than local council elections.

After the war Woolton realised that the socialists had successfully colonised the universities — both undergraduates and dons — and the Conservatives, he felt, must reclaim their share of the student vote. So Woolton travelled to Oxford and Cambridge, wining and dining politically-minded members of the colleges and speaking passionately at the Unions. Within two years, the Conservatives were the majority party in both universities and, having galvanised the young politicos of Oxbridge, the message was spread to other campuses. The Young Conservatives were born.

There was no shortage of willing volunteers. For ex-officers in their early twenties, who were finding civilian life dull and shapeless, taking command of the Orpington branch of the Young Conservatives and whipping their recruits into shape was the next best thing to leading a battalion. By 1947, there were 1,546 branches and 104,000 members. The following year membership had risen to 151,987.

Lord Woolton knew that to win the 1951 general election, the party needed troops on the ground. In his memoirs, he talks proudly of what he called "Operation Knocker": the mass deployment of Young Conservatives to knock on doors on behalf of local candidates. And it worked: the Conservatives won by a majority of 17. Not a very great majority but enough to put Churchill, Woolton and the YCs in power.