David Niven

Famous Faces today and also in Uniform during World War 2:

David Niven had his first stint of military service in 1930 as an officer in the Highland Light Infantry but quickly tired of the peacetime Army and his rebelliousness got him into trouble.

After being placed under close arrest for an act of insubordination in 1933, Niven escaped from a first-floor window and headed for fame and fortune in Hollywood, resigning his commission by telegram while crossing the Atlantic. After Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, he returned home and rejoined the Army. Niven was re-commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade, assigned to a motor training battalion.

Bored with this, he transferred into the Commandos and commanded a special reconnaissance unit, known as “Phantom”, which took part in the invasion of Normandy after D-Day, locating and reporting enemy positions. He ended the war as a Lieutenant-Colonel and returned to Hollywood to resume his acting career. The US Government awarded him the Legion of Merit, which was presented by General Eisenhower.

Niven remained tight-lipped about his wartime experiences, but in his autobiography The Moon’s a Balloon he recalled a private conversation in 1940 with Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who told him, “Young man, you did a fine thing to give up your film career to fight for your country. Mark you, had you not done so − it would have been despicable.”

Source: Osage Hardwood Flooring