Ona II was built in 1931 by Staniland and Company at Thorne in Yorkshire, near the River Ouse, which flows into the Humber. The vessel is a typical 36-foot motor yacht designed for the enjoyment of English rivers. In 1940, Ona II was owned by Mr. H. Payne, although the circumstances of her presence in Southern England at that time remain unclear. Official records confirm that she participated in the Dunkirk evacuation, successfully rescuing twenty soldiers.

Following this period, the vessel’s history is undocumented until 1984, when heating engineer Dennis Haresign discovered Ona II on the Thames at Oxford. At that time, she was vandalised, partly submerged, and obstructing a local boatyard’s slipway. Her owner, residing abroad, was willing to sell the yacht for £500. Ona II was transported through rural Wiltshire and placed in a cottage garden near Swindon, where a team of eight enthusiasts undertook extensive restoration work. This included re-planking the hull, stripping and repainting all woodwork, adding mast and sails, rewiring, and refurbishing the interior with renewed fittings.

With financial support from the Swindon branch of The Dunkirk Veteran's Association, Ona II was restored to seaworthy condition in time to participate in the 45th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation in 1985. After several years alternating between Wiltshire and Portsmouth, the vessel was acquired by Keith Carter and his wife Anne. Experienced in sailing boats in England’s Lake District, they sought a motor yacht “of a certain age” and replaced many fittings with authentic examples from the 1930s.

In 1995, Ona II was purchased by Nicolas and Sylvie Beytout, residents of an island near Paris who desired a wooden boat for local cruising. The yacht underwent a complete refit by Simon and Lyndon Evans, owners of Dunkirk Little Ships based in Burgundy. Today, Ona II serves as an elegant family cruising boat, used on the Seine, the waterways of Burgundy, and other locations.

Ona II is considered one of the fortunate vessels among the Dunkirk Little Ships fleet, with prospects to remain part of this veteran fleet for many decades to come.