He Was in the Navy
Attenborough was called up for national service in 1947 to serve in the Royal Navy. He spent two years in North Wales and the Firth of Forth. After graduating with a degree in Natural Sciences, his two years of national service were essentially his first venture in world exploration. But, what is obvious to us now wasn’t to him then: that the military wasn’t where his heart was.
David Attenborough – 1982. Source: Shutterstock
During a BBC One Twitter Q&A, Attenborough revealed that it was nature that became his passion. It had first taken his breath away when he suddenly became aware of “a great crested newt displaying in a pond in Leicestershire when I was 8.” (Those newts came in handy with the university.)