David James Niven

Lieutenant Colonel David Niven was already a Hollywood star when war broke out, but unlike many actors who stayed safely in America, he immediately returned to Britain and re-joined the Army. He served with the Commandos and the Phantom reconnaissance unit, landing in Normandy on D-Day+1.Niven's wartime service was genuine and dangerous — he participated in the crossing of the Rhine and the advance into Germany. Churchill once said of him: "Young man, you did a fine thing to give up a most promising career to fight for your country." His Welsh connections come through his ancestral ties to the region.