About the Author

Alan Villiers (1903–82) was a recognized maritime adventurer of the twentieth century, combining seafaring skills, writing ability and pioneering photojournalism, and made a name for himself with resulting bestsellers such as Falmouth for Orders (1929), which follows his voyage on one of the last grain races round Cape Horn from Australia to Britain. He served on the committees for a number of maritime bodies and, as a Trustee of the National Maritime Museum, played a fundamental role in establishing its historic photograph collection. Overall he published more than forty books and innumerable articles and was well known around the world as a lecturer and broadcaster.