Rodney Taylor

Completing a period of training at sea aboard HMAS Swan, Taylor was posted to England for further instruction at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, from which he graduated in 1959.

[3] Later posted aboard HMAS Anzac, Taylor met Judy Smith, a Melbourne-born Qantas air hostess, in 1963; the couple married the following year, and were later to have a son named Sean.

On finishing this stint, he was allocated as navigator of the Royal Navy's 7th Mine Countermeasures Squadron based on Malta.

During 1967, Taylor, by now holding the rank of lieutenant commander, was posted to the United States to serve as the commissioning navigator and operations officer of the destroyer HMAS Brisbane.

[1][4][5] Posted back to Australia, Taylor was appointed to the staff of the Naval College at HMAS Creswell in Jervis Bay.

As his exchange stint concluded, Taylor returned to Australia and was made director of tactics and navigation at the Navy Office.

[1][2][3][6] For his services as Deputy Fleet Commander and Commodore Flotillas, Taylor was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours List.

During this time, Taylor was required to work closely with the Australian Government and became "adept at briefing the PM, ministers and other VIP visitors to the ops room".

He also implemented reforms concerning pay, conditions and rank structure as well as leading the Royal Australian Navy to become more tolerant towards homosexuals and women at sea.

Just prior to his retirement, Taylor was able to lessen the impact of some of the reform proposals and advocated that the Collins class submarine project proceed.