William Niven, once a wealthy man and a Lieutenant in the Berkshire Yeomanry, was killed in action on the Gallipoli Peninsula in August 1915, aged approximately 27 years old. Henrietta Niven went on to marry Sir Thomas Comyn-Platt, a politician who had little time for his stepchildren other than to support them financially.

David lived in many different locations during his childhood, these included an estate in Kirrimeur in Scotland and various locations in England including Cadogan Place, Sloane Street and Cheyne Walk in London, Carswell Manor in Berkshire, a farm in Cirencester, an estate in Gloucestershire and Bembridge on the Isle of Wight.

David's childhood was spent attending many prep schools, primarily due to bad behavior, until he was finally offered a place at the newly founded public school called Stowe. It was here that he settled and met Roxburgh, David's headmaster and mentor for whom he always had a lot of respect for. After a letter of recommendation from Roxburgh, David was accepted into the Royal Military College of Sandhurst. Following Sandhurst, David was despatched to the Highland Light Infantry and stationed first in Malta and then in Dover, England. It was in Malta that David met his lifelong friend and twice best man, Michael Trubshawe.

At age 23 David decided to leave the army and head for Canada and then New York where he became a whisky salesman, followed by Atlantic City where he co-founded The American Pony Express Racing Association. Los Angeles became David's next stop and it was here that he confessed his new ambition to become an actor and with a little bit of help he became a Hollywood extra. It was in 1935 and a couple of months later that David accepted a contract with Samuel Goldwyn. After his first speaking role in the Paramount picture Without Regret, David went on appear in various other films that included Barbary Coast, Palm Springs Affair, Dodsworth, The Charge of the Light Brigade in which he met and befriended the actor Errol Flynn, Beloved Enemy, The Prisioner of Zenda, Dinner at Eight which was filmed in London, Three Blind Mice, The Dawn Patrol and the very successful Wuthering Heights. After suspension by Samuel Goldwyn over a salary dispute, David was back to star in his last two films The Real Glory and Raffles before returning to England to re-join the Army at the start of the Second World War.

David's first choice was to join the Navy, but due to their reluctance to accept his services he was instead to join the Rifle Brigade and was based on Salisbury Plain. Whilst on leave in the summer of 1940 David met Primula Rollo who was to become his first wife after only ten days and the mother of his two sons David Jr and Jamie. Their wedding was held in Huish Church on the Wiltshire Downs. David was now a member of Phantom, a regiment formed from volunteer commandos. Army life was not without films, he starred in two, The First of the Few and The Way Ahead.

After the end of the war David returned to Hollywood on a revised long term contract, Primula and the children following shortly after. It was only six weeks later that Primula had a terrible accident, whilst playing hide and seek, she fell down a flight of stone steps and subsequently died from her injuries. David was absolutely heartbroken, he adored Primmie and life without her never seemed quite the same for him. After the upset of her death and with the prospect of raising two young boys alone, David returned to work to star in various films including The Perfect Marriage, Magnificent Doll, The Other Love and The Bishop's Wife.

It was on the set of the film Bonnie Prince Charlie which was filmed in London, that David met his second wife the Swedish model Hjordis Tersmeden. They married just ten days later in Kensington Registry Office in London. David, his new wife and his two children returned to Hollywood and David went on to star in other films including Enchantment, The Elusive Pimpernel and A Kiss for Corliss which was to be his last film as a contract player. It was at this point in his life David wrote the novel Round the Rugged Rocks. Other films starred in at this time in his life included Happy Go Lovely and Soldiers Three. After a conversation with Dick Powell, Charles Bowyer and a deal with CBS, they agreed to make a series of dramas for television, this was an excellent idea and revived David's weakening career. David continued to star in other films and these included The Love Lottery, Happy Ever After, Carrington VC, the very successful Around the World in Eighty Days, The Little Hut, My Man Godfrey, Bonjour Tristesse and the highly successful Separate Tables which was to earn David his one and only oscar. Other films include Ask Any Girl, Happy Anniversary and Please Don't Eat the Daisies, the film that David was filming when his marital problems caused Hjordis to leave him and then return once the marital problems were over.

It was after the murder of a neighbour and at Hjordis's return to the marriage that they decided to move to Chateau d'Oex in Switzerland and adopt two daughters, Kristina and Fiona, something that Hjordis had wanted for a long time. Also homes in both Switzerland and Cap Ferrat in the South of France gave David the opportunity to enjoy his favourite past-times, skiing, sailing, fishing and painting. David's next films included The Guns of Navarone, 55 Days at Peking, The Pink Panther, Bedtime Story, Where the Spies Are, Eye of the Devil, Before Winter Comes and many other less successful films.

After a series of meetings in the 1960's, David decided to write about himself and his career. His first book of memoirs became the highly successful international best-seller The Moons A Balloon, selling approximately 5,000,000 copies. After this David continued to star in other films included Vampira, Paper Tiger, No Deposit No Return, Murder by Death and Candleshoe. David released his second book of Memoirs, Bring on the Empty Horses, it wasn't as popular as the first but it was still very successful. David's next book was to be a novel and was called Go Slowly, Come Back Quickly. The next set of films included Death on the Nile, Escape to Athena (which David Niven Jr co-directed), A Nightingale sang in Berkley Square, Rough Cut and the last film made before his illness was diagnosed, The Sea Wolves.

It was on the British television talk show Parkinson, that a viewer recognised David's symptons and advised him to see a doctor as soon as possible. After receiving the results of the tests, David became aware of the severity of the illness diagnosed as Motor Neurone Disease, this effected his muscles and voice, two of the things that meant the most to him. David's last Hollywood public appearance was to present a life achievement award to one of his oldest friends Fred Astaire. David's final films included Better Late Than Never the last film to use his actual voice, The Pink Panther, The Curse of the Pink Panther and finally The Trail of the Pink Panther. The illness continued to worsen meaning David's condition slowly deteriorated until he sadly died at his chalet in Switzerland on 28th July 1983. The burial was held on 3rd August 1983 at the Chateau d'Oex Cemetary in Switzerland, with memorial services held and attended by friends in both London and LA.

During his lifetime as an actor and author, David brought great pleasure to millions of people. He had many friends and two beautiful wives. Of all the people who have spoken about David, not one has had anything bad to say, David was well liked and has been missed by many. Therefore I hope this tribute website does him justice and allows everyone to be aware of what a truly magnificent man David Niven was. David's obituary in the Times newspaper, sums up exactly what type of man David was.. 'the memory of an archetypal English gentleman, witty, debonair, immaculate in dress and behaviour, but with mischief lurking never far from the surface.'