Jack Laurence

He was also escaping the Danish weather.

It was horrible.

So a young Jim is off on a new adventure, set on conquering his fears of the world around him.

Signing up for the Legionnaires in Paris, he soon heads off to the south of France.

At that time, 300 men would apply each week, with only 30 being chosen.

Jim was one of those 30 and was soon thrown into a rigorous training course for four months, which he says taught him some extremely valuable lessons.

Yeah, yeah.

Don't let Jim touch a grenade.

First forming in the 1800s, its selection process is notoriously tough, and men from all over the world each year take on the challenge to join its ranks.

So Jim was slowly using his time as a legionnaire to conquer his fears.

one of which was jumping, as he puts it, from anything higher than around three metres.

So if you're afraid of jumping from heights, not even great heights, naturally, when you get the choice of your regiment within the French Foreign Legion... So therefore it made sense to sign up for the paratroopers.

So at no point did you suddenly go, this is exhilarating.

I love this.

I'm going to keep doing this.

Yeah.

Well, there's a positive.

Absolutely incredible.

But you never actually saw any sort of form of war, did you, or any sort of actual combat?

Chapter 2.