Editing David Niven (section)

====1939–1945: Second World War====
The day after Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, Niven returned home and rejoined the British Army. He was alone among British stars in Hollywood in doing so; the [[British Embassy, Washington, D.C.|British Embassy]] advised most actors to stay.<ref name=friedrich1986>{{cite book|last=Friedrich|first=Otto|title=City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940s|year=1986|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley and Los Angeles|isbn=0-520-20949-4|page=28|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0x8AFchW4JsC&pg=PA6}}</ref>

Niven was recommissioned as a lieutenant in the [[Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own)]] on 25 February 1940,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34823 |supp=y|page=1978|date=5 September 1933}}</ref> and was assigned to a motor training battalion. He wanted something more exciting, however, and transferred to the [[British Commandos|Commandos]]. He was assigned to a training base at [[Inverailort House]] in the Western [[Scottish Highlands|Highlands]]. Niven later claimed credit for bringing future [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major General]] [[Sir Robert Laycock]] to the Commandos. Niven commanded "A" Squadron [[GHQ Liaison Regiment]], better known as "Phantom". He was promoted to war-substantive [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]] on 18 August 1941.<ref>{{cite book |date=1943 |title=The Quarterly Army List (October–December 1943: Part II) |location=London |publisher=[[HM Stationery Office]] |page=1368b |url=https://archive.org/details/armylistjanpart121944gre/page/1796/mode/2up}}</ref>

[[File:Eternally Yours still.jpg|right|thumb|With [[Loretta Young]] in ''[[Eternally Yours (film)|Eternally Yours]]'' (1939)]]
[[File:First-of-the-Few-1942-Howard-Niven.jpg|right|thumb|With [[Leslie Howard]] in ''[[The First of the Few]]'' (1942)]]
Niven also worked with the [[Army Film and Photographic Unit]]. His work included a small part in the deception operation that used minor actor [[M. E. Clifton James]] to impersonate [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] [[Bernard Montgomery|Sir Bernard Montgomery]]. During his work with the AFPU, [[Peter Ustinov]], one of the scriptwriters, had to pose as Niven's [[Batman (army)|batman]]. Niven explained in his autobiography that there was no military way that he, a [[Lieutenant-Colonel (United Kingdom)|lieutenant-colonel]], and Ustinov, who was only a [[private (rank)|private]], could associate, other than as an officer and his subordinate, hence their strange "act". In 1978, Niven and Ustinov would star together in a film adaptation of [[Agatha Christie]]'s ''[[Death on the Nile (1978 film)|Death on the Nile]]''.

He acted in two wartime films not formally associated with the AFPU, but both made with a firm view to winning support for the British war effort, especially in the United States. These were ''[[The First of the Few]]'' (1942), directed by [[Leslie Howard]], and ''[[The Way Ahead]]'' (1944), directed by [[Carol Reed]], the latter of which included a large supporting role for Ustinov.

Niven was also given a significant if largely unheralded role in the creation of [[SHAEF]]'s military radio efforts conceived to provide entertainment to British, Canadian, and American forces in England and in Europe. In 1944 he worked extensively with the [[BBC]] and SHAEF to expand these broadcast efforts. He also worked extensively with Major [[Glenn Miller]], whose [[Army Air Force]] big band, formed in the US, was performing and broadcasting for troops in England. Niven played a role in the operation to move the Miller band to France prior to Miller's December 1944 disappearance while flying over the English Channel.

On 14 March 1944, Niven was promoted war-substantive major (temporary lieutenant-colonel).<ref>{{cite book |date=1945 |title=The Quarterly Army List (April–June 1945: Part II) |location=London |publisher=[[HM Stationery Office]] |page=1368b |url=https://archive.org/details/armylistjulpart121945grea/page/2058/mode/2up}}</ref> He took part in the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[invasion of Normandy]] in June 1944, although he was sent to France several days after [[D-Day]]. He served in "[[GHQ Liaison Regiment|Phantom]]", a secret reconnaissance and signals unit which located and reported enemy positions,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/five-film-stars-wartime-roles|title=Five Film Stars' Wartime Roles|website=Imperial War Museums}}</ref> and kept rear commanders informed on changing battle lines. Niven was posted at one time to [[Chilham]] in Kent.
[[File:Scena Muda v.29, n.21, 1949 - David Niven.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Niven in 1949]]

Niven had particular scorn for those newspaper columnists covering the war who typed out self-glorifying and excessively florid prose about their meagre wartime experiences. Niven stated, "Anyone who says a bullet sings past, hums past, flies, pings, or whines past, has never heard one{{snd}}they go ''crack''!" He gave a few details of his war experience in his autobiography, ''[[The Moon's a Balloon]]:'' his private conversations with [[Winston Churchill]], the [[bombing of London]], and what it was like entering Germany with the occupation forces. Niven first met Churchill at a dinner party in February 1940. Churchill singled him out from the crowd and stated, "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."<ref name="Moon"/>

A few stories have surfaced. About to lead his men into action, Niven eased their nervousness by telling them, "Look, you chaps only have to do this once. But I'll have to do it all over again in Hollywood with Errol Flynn!" Asked by suspicious American sentries during the [[Battle of the Bulge]] who had won the [[1943 World Series|World Series in 1943]], he answered, "Haven't the foggiest idea, but I did co-star with Ginger Rogers in ''Bachelor Mother''!"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/08/18/david-niven-british-star-hollywood-enlist-world-war-2/|title=David Niven was the only British star in Hollywood to enlist during WWII|date=18 August 2016}}</ref>

Niven ended the war as a [[Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)|lieutenant-colonel]]. On his return to Hollywood after the war, he received the [[Legion of Merit]], an American military decoration<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=37340 |date=8 November 1945 |page=5461 |supp=y}}</ref> in honour of Niven's work setting up the [[BBC Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme]], a radio news and entertainment station for the Allied forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=7698398|title=Recommendation for Award for Niven, John David Rank: Lieutenant Colonel|work=DocumentsOnline|publisher=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]|format=fee usually required to view full pdf of original recommendation|access-date=7 April 2009}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37340 |supp=y|page=5461|date=6 November 1945}}</ref>