The Yachties – Australian Volunteers in the RN 1940-1945

The Yachtsmen Scheme was promoted by the Admiralty through the yacht clubs in the Dominions and some 500 Australian volunteers of the RANVR were selected and drafted to Britain from 1940-42, to be trained and serve as officers.  Their service included convoy duties across the Atlantic, the Med and the Arctic; commando raids on the French coast and in the Adriatic; mine disposal, clearance and sweeping and in the Normandy landings.  Some were involved in evacuation of Australian forces from Greece and Crete.  'Yachties' also served in South East Asia and the Pacific.