Villiers, Alan John (1903–1982)

Australian sailor and travel writer. With the four-master Pamir he twice won the grain race from South Australia to England. In 1957 he captained the Mayflower II, a replica of the original ship of the Pilgrim Fathers, on a commemorative voyage across the Atlantic.

His books include Falmouth for Orders 1929, By Way of Cape Horn (1930), The Cruise of the Conrad (1937), The Quest of the Schooner Argus (1952), for which he was awarded the Portuguese Camoëns Prize, and The Way of a Ship (1953). The Set of the Sails (1949) is autobiographical.

Born in Melbourne, at the age of 15 he went to sea as a cadet, and thereafter spent much of his life in sailing ships. During World War II he held the rank of lieutenant-commander RNVR and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC).