Anthony Synnot

Sir Anthony Synnot
Sir Anthony Synnot
Birth name	Anthony Monckton Synnot
Born	5 January 1922; Corowa, New South Wales
Died	4 July 2001 (aged 79); Yass, New South Wales
Allegiance	Australia
Service / branch	Royal Australian Navy
Years of service	1939–1982
Rank	Admiral
Commands	Chief of Defence Force Staff (1979–82); Chief of Naval Staff (1976–79); HM Australian Fleet (1973–74); HMAS Melbourne (1967); HMAS Sydney (1966); Royal Malaysian Navy (1962–65); HMAS Vampire (1960–61); HMAS Warramunga (1956–57)
Battles / wars	Second World War Battle of the Mediterranean; Battle of Cape Matapan; Arctic convoys; ; Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation; Vietnam War;
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire; Officer of the Order of Australia; Mentioned in Despatches; Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (Malaysia)
Other work	Chairman of the Council of the Australian War Memorial (1982–85)

Admiral Sir Anthony Monckton Synnot, KBE, AO (5 January 1922 – 4 July 2001) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy, who served as Chief of the Defence Force Staff from 1979 to 1982.

Early life

Synnot was born in 1922 at Corowa, New South Wales, a descendant of Monckton Synnot, brother of Captain Timothy Monckton Synnot and a distant relative of the American Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. Synnot was educated at Geelong Grammar School. He joined the Royal Australian Navy as a cadet midshipman in March 1939 and trained in Britain with Prince Philip of Greece (as he then was). His first ship was the cruiser HMAS Canberra.

Naval career

During the Second World War, Synnot served aboard the destroyer HMAS Stuart in the Battle of Cape Matapan, for which he was mentioned in despatches, and during the evacuation of Greece and Crete. With the Royal Navy, he saw service on the battleship HMS Barham and was on board the destroyer HMS Punjabi when she sank off Iceland in 1942 after being accidentally rammed by the battleship HMS King George V.

Subsequently, Synnot served for two years on the Australian destroyer HMAS Quiberon on North Sea convoy duty and during the North Africa landings, eventually becoming the ship's executive officer. In 1945, Synnot qualified as a gunnery officer and served on the staff of gunnery schools in Australia. Promoted to commander in 1954, he took charge of HMAS Warramunga in 1956. He became captain of the Daring-class destroyer HMAS Vampire in 1960.

In 1950, Synnot had taken part in the Bridgeford Mission to Malaya, which advised the Australian government on the Malayan Emergency. His report on the options for providing naval support for the British laid the foundations for Australian naval involvement in the region and led to Synnot's secondment to command the Royal Malaysian Navy from 1962 to 1965.

On his return to Australia, Synnot attended administrative staff college before returning to sea in 1966 as Captain of the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney, then in 1967, the carrier HMAS Melbourne. He was the only officer to command both aircraft carriers.^{[citation needed]}

After a year at the Imperial Defence College in London, he returned to Australia as director general of fighting equipment. Promoted to rear-admiral in 1970, he became chief of naval personnel and subsequently deputy chief of naval staff. He became Flag Officer Commanding HM Australian Fleet in 1973. In 1974, he was appointed director joint staff in the Australian Defence Department, and played a leading role in the relief effort following the devastation of Darwin by Cyclone Tracy.

In 1976, Synnot was promoted to vice admiral and appointed Chief of Naval Staff. He initiated a review of the Navy Office and of the Navy's structure of command and control. He drew up a blueprint for the maintenance of naval capability into the future, and oversaw the Navy's guided-missile frigate project.

In April 1979 he was promoted to Admiral and became the Chief of Defence Force Staff, a position he held until his retirement in 1982. Extremely able and practical, Synnot came to be regarded as one of the country's most outstanding defence force chiefs.^{[citation needed]} A strong believer in deterrence and an advocate of close co-operation with America and countries in the Pacific region, Synnot emphasised the need for a strong military capability for national defence and for joint operations with Australia's allies overseas.^{[citation needed]} He was said^[who?] to have done more to equip Australia's armed forces with up-to-date military technology than any of his predecessors. In particular, he was instrumental in persuading the Australian government of the need to upgrade the country's air force with the acquisition of the F/A-18 Hornet.^{[citation needed]}

He was also behind the decision to acquire the British aircraft carrier HMS Invincible as a replacement for the ageing HMAS Melbourne.^{[citation needed]} However, Britain withdrew the offer to sell Invincible after the Falklands War.^[1]

Synnot retired on 20 April 1982.

Personal

Synnot was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1971,^[2] and knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1978.^[3] He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1976.^[4] He married Virginia Davenport in 1959 and they remained married until her death in 1965. He married a second time in 1968 to Anne Colvin (née Manifold), great-niece of former Prime Minister of Australia Stanley Bruce and mother of journalist Mark Colvin.

Admiral Sir Anthony Synnot died on 4 July 2001 at the age of 79, after suffering from a long illness and a number of years also suffering total blindness.^[5]

References

^ Stevens, David; Sears, Jason; Goldrick, James; Cooper, Alastair; Jones, Peter; Spurling, Kathryn (2001). Stevens, David (ed.). The Royal Australian Navy. The Australian Centenary History of Defence (vol III). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press. p. 227. ISBN 0-19-554116-2. OCLC 50418095.
^ "No. 45555". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1971. p. 34.
^ "No. 47724". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1978. p. 36.
^ It's an Honour – Entry
^ Defender Archived 30 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine – The National Journal of the Australia Defence Association

External links

Australian Naval Personalities: Synnot, Anthony Monckton (1922–2001)
Defence Force – Previous Chiefs
Media release – Death of Admiral Sir Anthony Synnot

Military offices
Preceded by General Sir Arthur MacDonald	Chief of Defence Force Staff 1979–1982	Succeeded by Air Chief Marshal Sir Neville McNamara
Preceded by Vice Admiral Sir David Stevenson	Chief of Naval Staff 1976–1979	Succeeded by Vice Admiral Sir James Willis
Preceded by Rear Admiral William Dovers	Flag Officer Commanding HM Australian Fleet 1973–1974	Succeeded by Rear Admiral David Wells
Preceded by Rear Admiral David Wells	Deputy Chief of Naval Staff 1971–1972	Succeeded by Rear Admiral William Dovers

[1] Stevens, David; Sears, Jason; Goldrick, James; Cooper, Alastair; Jones, Peter; Spurling, Kathryn (2001). Stevens, David (ed.). The Royal Australian Navy. The Australian Centenary History of Defence (vol III). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press. p. 227. ISBN 0-19-554116-2. OCLC 50418095.

[2] "No. 45555". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1971. p. 34.

[3] "No. 47724". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1978. p. 36.

[4] It's an Honour – Entry

[5] Defender Archived 30 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine – The National Journal of the Australia Defence Association

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v t e Chiefs of the Defence Force
Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee	Sir Henry Wells Sir Roy Dowling Sir Frederick Scherger Sir John Wilton Sir Victor Smith Francis Hassett
Chief of Defence Force Staff	Sir Francis Hassett Sir Arthur MacDonald Sir Anthony Synnot Sir Neville McNamara Sir Phillip Bennett
Chief of the Defence Force	Sir Phillip Bennett Peter Gration Alan Beaumont John Baker Chris Barrie Peter Cosgrove Angus Houston David Hurley Mark Binskin Angus Campbell

v t e Chiefs of the Royal Australian Navy
Director, Commonwealth Naval Forces	Sir William Rooke Creswell
First Naval Members, Australian Commonwealth Naval Board	Sir William Rooke Creswell Sir Percy Grant Sir Allan Everett Percival Hall-Thompson William Napier Sir William Munro Kerr Sir George Hyde Sir Ragnar Colvin Sir Guy Royle Sir Louis Keppel Hamilton Sir John Augustine Collins Sir Roy Dowling Sir Henry Burrell Sir Hastings Harrington Sir Alan McNicoll Sir Victor Smith Sir Richard Peek Sir David Stevenson
Chiefs of the Naval Staff	Sir Anthony Synnot Sir James Willis David Leach Michael Hudson Ian MacDougall Rodney Taylor
Chiefs of Navy	Rodney Taylor Donald Chalmers David Shackleton Chris Ritchie Russ Shalders Russell Crane Raymond Griggs Timothy Barrett Michael Noonan Mark Hammond

v t e Fleet Commanders of the Royal Australian Navy
Rear Admiral Commanding HM Australian Fleet	Sir George Patey Sir William Pakenham Arthur Leveson Sir Lionel Halsey John Dumaresq Albert Addison Thomas Wardle
Rear Admiral Commanding HM Australian Squadron	George Hyde Edward Evans Leonard Holbrook Robin Dalglish Wilbraham Ford Richard Lane-Poole Wilfred Custance Wilfrid Patterson John Crace Victor Crutchley John Collins Charles Nichols Harold Farncomb John Collins Harold Farncomb
Flag Officer Commanding HM Australian Fleet	John Eccles John Eaton Roy Dowling Henry Burrell David Harries Henry Burrell Galfry Gatacre Hastings Harrington Alan McNicoll Otto Becher Thomas Morrison Victor Smith Richard Peek Gordon Crabb David Stevenson William Dovers David Stevenson William Dovers Anthony Synnot David Wells Geoffrey Gladstone Neil McDonald James Willis David Leach Peter Doyle John Stevens Michael Hudson Geoffrey Woolrych Ian Knox Peter Sinclair
Maritime Commander Australia	Peter Sinclair Ian MacDougall Ken Doolan Robert Walls Donald Chalmers Chris Oxenbould Chris Ritchie John Lord Geoffrey Smith Raydon Gates Rowan Moffitt Davyd Thomas
Commander Australian Fleet	Davyd Thomas Nigel Coates Steve Gilmore Tim Barrett Stuart Mayer Jonathan Mead Mark Hammond Jonathan Earley