David Niven had his first film role  almost a century ago, and it marked the beginning of a remarkable 50-year career.

Niven was born in London and attended Heatherdown Preparatory School and Stowe before being accepted to Sandhurst, the Royal Military College. He joined the British Army after Sandhurst and was gazetted as a second lieutenant in the Highland Light Infantry. He left the Highland Light Infantry after developing an interest in acting and proceeded to Hollywood, where he had many minor roles in films. He first appeared in the British film There Goes the Bride as an extra (1932). From there, he got an agent and appeared in a number of minor roles in films between 1933 and 1935, including a non-speaking role in MGM’s Mutiny on the Bounty. This drew him to the attention of the film business, and Samuel Goldwyn spotted him.

Despite his success as an actor in the United States, he returned to England following the outbreak of World War II and rose through the ranks of the Royal Commandos to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

He also took part in the Allied Invasion of Normandy, when he met Winston Churchill and formed a bond.

“Young man, you did a fine thing to give up your film career to fight for your country,” Winnie had said at a 1940 dinner party.

“Mark you, had you not done so, it would have been despicable!”

Niven was formerly assigned to Chilham, Kent. Despite popular curiosity in celebrities in battle and a penchant for storytelling, he stayed mum about the conflict. He once stated, ”

“I will, however, tell you just one thing about the war, my first story and my last. I was asked by some American friends to search out the grave of their son near Bastogne. I found it where they told me I would, but it was among 27,000 others, and I told myself that here, Niven, were 27,000 reasons why you should keep your mouth shut after the war.”

He had special contempt for wartime newspaper columnists who wrote self-congratulatory and overly florid writing about their poor wartime experiences. “Anyone who says a bullet sings, hums, flies, pings, or whines past has never heard one – they go crack!” said Niven. In his autobiography, The Moon’s a Balloon, he described his wartime experiences, including his intimate chats with Winston Churchill, the bombing of London, and what it was like to invade Germany with the occupation troops. In February 1940, Niven met Churchill at a dinner gathering. “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.”

Niven stated subsequently that he was the one who recruited future Major General Sir Robert E. Laycock to the Commandos. “A” Squadron GHQ Liaison Regiment, popularly known as “Phantom,” was Niven’s command. He was a member of the Army Film Unit. He appeared in two wartime films, The First of the Few (1942) and The Way Ahead (1943). (1944). Both were created in order to gain support for Britain’s war effort, particularly in the United States. Niven’s involvement with the Film Unit includes a minor role in the deception operation in which minor actor M.E. Clifton James impersonated General Sir Bernard Montgomery. Despite being a scriptwriter, Peter Ustinov had to play Niven’s batman during his time with the Film Unit (essentially his servant). In his memoirs, Niven claimed that as a lieutenant-colonel, he and Ustinov, who was merely a private, could not associate in any way other than as an officer and his subordinate, thus their bizarre “act.” Ustinov later starred alongside Niven in the film Death on the Nile (1978).

Perhaps Lt. Col. Niven would have wanted to stay home for supper had Hitler not threatened the globe, but he decided to fight instead. A general in the United States Marine Corps does not need to defend himself by denigrating the Royal Commando’s wartime service.