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

Sir Anthony Synnot
Birth name	Anthony Monckton Synnot
Born	(1922-01-05)5 January 1922 Corowa, New South Wales
Died	4 July 2001(2001-07-04) (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 theAustralian War Memorial (1982–85)

Synnot was born in 1922 atCorowa, New South Wales, a descendant ofMonckton Synnot, brother of CaptainTimothy Monckton Synnot and a distant relative of the AmericanSaintElizabeth Ann Seton. Synnot was educated atGeelong Grammar School. He joined the Royal Australian Navy as a cadet midshipman in March 1939 and trained in Britain withPrince Philip of Greece (as he then was). His first ship was the cruiserHMASCanberra.

During theSecond World War, Synnot served aboard the destroyerHMAS Stuart in theBattle of Cape Matapan, for which he wasmentioned in despatches, and during the evacuation of Greece andCrete. With theRoyal Navy, he saw service on the battleshipHMS Barham and was on board the destroyerHMS Punjabi when she sank offIceland in 1942 after being accidentally rammed by the battleshipHMS King George V.

Subsequently, Synnot served for two years on the Australian destroyerHMAS 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 ofHMAS Warramunga in 1956. He became captain of theDaring-class destroyerHMAS Vampire in 1960.

In 1950, Synnot had taken part in the Bridgeford Mission to Malaya, which advised the Australian government on theMalayan 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 theRoyal 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 carrierHMASSydney, then in 1967, the carrierHMASMelbourne. He was the only officer to command both aircraft carriers.^{[citation needed]}

After a year at theImperial 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 becameFlag 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 therelief effort following the devastation of Darwin byCyclone Tracy.

In 1976, Synnot was promoted tovice admiral and appointedChief 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. 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 theF/A-18 Hornet.^{[citation needed]}

He was also behind the decision to acquire the British aircraft carrierHMS Invincible as a replacement for the ageing HMASMelbourne.^{[citation needed]} However, Britain withdrew the offer to sellInvincible after theFalklands War.^[1]

Synnot retired on 20 April 1982.

Synnot was appointed aCommander of the Order of the British Empire in 1971,^[2] and knighted as aKnight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1978.^[3] He was appointed anOfficer 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 formerPrime Minister of AustraliaStanley Bruce and mother of journalistMark 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]

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