 He left school at age fifteen to become a telegraph operator and later served in World War II.In his memoir, "A Soldier First", General Rick Hillier, retired Chief of Defence Staff of the Canadian Forces, recalls borrowing books from David Elliott while a boy growing up in Campbellton, and recounts the story that Elliott served in military intelligence during the Second World War.Elliott entered Memorial University of Newfoundland at the age of 25, where he won numerous scholarships and awards, graduating with a first-class degree in English Language and Literature.