Synnot was born in 1922 at Corowa, New South Wales, a descendant of Monckton Synnot and brother of Captain Timothy Monckton Synnot RAN, 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).
Synnot
Prince Philip of Greece