Alan Villiers

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Alan Villiers
Alan Villiers aboard the Grace Harwar in 1929
Born	Alan John Villiers (1903-09-23)23 September 1903 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died	3 March 1982(1982-03-03) (aged 78) Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Occupation	journalist, sailor, author
Language	English
Nationality	Australian
Citizenship	Australian / British
Years active	1928-1965
Notable works	Whalers of the Midnight Sun
Notable awards	Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers 1950

Alan John Villiers, DSC (23 September 1903 – 3 March 1982) was a writer, adventurer, photographer and mariner.

Born in Melbourne, Australia, Villiers first went to sea at age 15 and sailed on board traditionally rigged vessels, including the full-rigged ship Joseph Conrad. He commanded square-rigged ships for films, including Moby Dick and Billy Budd. He also commanded the Mayflower II on its voyage from the United Kingdom to the United States.^[1]

Villiers wrote 44 books, and served as the Chairman (1960–70) and President (1970-74) of the Society for Nautical Research, a Trustee of the National Maritime Museum, and Governor of the Cutty Sark Preservation Society. He was awarded the British Distinguished Service Cross as a Commander in the Royal Naval Reserve during the Second World War.