 In late November 1940 , Becher transferred to the recently launched destroyer HMAS Napier as part of the ship 's commissioning crew . While completing working @-@ up exercises , Napier was tasked with transferring British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his wife from Thurso in Scotland to the battleship HMS King George V , and later returning them to the mainland . With her working @-@ up complete , Napier was initially posted to convoy duties in the North Atlantic , before setting sail in April 1941 with HMAS Nizam for the Mediterranean Sea . Arriving in May , she formed up as part of the Mediterranean Fleet . 
