Rear Admiral Geoffrey James Alexander Bayliss, AM, RAN Rtd

RADM Geoffrey Bayliss was born in 1937 in the remote highlands of Burma and attended Brisbane Boys College. Following National Service as an infantry soldier in the Australian Army, he joined the RAN in Feb 1958 as an undergraduate medical officer at the University of Queensland.

RADM Bayliss’ early life was shaped by war and the challenges of peace that followed.  During the Second World War, his father was an oil engineer and essential worker in the Caribbean oil fields.  At the tender age of seven, RADM Bayliss was placed in a watchbill to cross the Atlantic in a convoy from New York to Liverpool to reunite with his family in Britain.  This was RADM Bayliss’ first exposure to Naval life.  RADM Bayliss was charged with assisting the U-Boat lookouts in the conduct of their duties – a job he fully embraced as it meant he got to stay up all night, remain on the upper decks, drink kye (hot cocoa) and chat to adults.

Following National Service and while studying medicine at UQ, RADM Bayliss qualified as a Ship’s Diver and obtained his civilian pilot’s licence.  His first seagoing role was Ship’s Doctor in HMAS DIAMANTINA in 1963 at the time of Confrontation. In this posting, RADM Bayliss also qualified as an Officer of the Watch.  He stood evening and morning watches on the bridge, ran the sickbay and as the Ship’s Diver conducted diving operations in support of survey operations when required.

In Dec 1963, RADM Bayliss posted ashore to the Fleet Air Arm at HMAS Albatross.  In this posting he pursued his passion for flying and met his future wife of 58 years, Third Officer WRANS Marjorie Reid.  RADM Bayliss was on duty as a junior doctor ashore on the night of the Melbourne Voyager Collision.  In the immediate aftermath of the collision, his duties centred on support to the search for survivors and the recovery, triage and staging of rescued crew through HMAS CRESWELL.

RADM Bayliss’ next shore appointment was to the newly established School of Underwater medicine at HMAS RUSHCUTTER.  During this time, he operated the Navy’s recompression chamber and published a series of medical papers through the University of New South Wales on the impact of diving on the human body.  RADM Bayliss’ patients frequently included civilian recreational divers as Navy had the only recompression chamber in Australia at that time.  Many of whom remained ever thankful for the care of Navy’s medical teams for their treatment and recovery from The Bends.

RADM Bayliss was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in 1967. He returned to sea as the Ship’s Doctor in the fast troop transport ship HMAS SYDNEY (nicknamed the ‘Vung Tau Ferry’) and saw active service in the Vietnam War.  He completed 7 transport rotations to Vietnam.  During an exchange posting at the Royal Navy Hospital HMS HASLAR in Gosport, UK, RADM Bayliss studied for his internal medicine examinations and was admitted to the Royal College of Physicians.

RADM Bayliss returned to sea in 1974 as the Fleet Medical Officer (FMO) embarked in the carrier HMAS MELBOURNE.  Whilst in MELBOURNE, he participated in the first Exercise KANGAROO ONE at Shoalwater Bay and RIMPAC.  In December 1974, as FMO in MELBOURNE, RADM Bayliss led Navy’s medical contingent under Operation NAVY HELP DARWIN in the aftermath of Cyclone Tracy.  RADM Bayliss was awarded a Fleet Commander’s Commendation for his role in this operation. 

In mid-1976, RADM Bayliss was appointed Medical Officer in Charge of the RAN hospital at HMAS CERBERUS.  In 1979 he was promoted to Captain and appointed as the Medical Officer in Charge of the RAN Hospital at HMAS PENGUIN and the Command Medical Officer of Naval Support Command.  During this role in May 1981 he was appointed as the Honorary Surgeon to Her Majesty the Queen. In 1982, in recognition of his clinical expertise and service to Naval medicine, RADM Bayliss was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia. 

In the mid-1980s RADM Bayliss served as Navy’s Director of Medical Services in Canberra.  He led Navy’s response to many significant public health policy challenges including HIV-AIDS, passive smoking, obesity and alcohol abuse.  RADM Bayliss’ ability to deliver public health initiatives within a Naval environment was recognised in 1987 with his promotion to the rank of RADM, direct from Captain, and his appointment as Director General Naval Health Services.

In 1989 RADM Bayliss retired from the Navy. Following RADM Bayliss’ long Naval service, he was employed as the Chief of Medical Staff at the King Fahad Hospital in Al Baha in Saudi Arabia from 1990-1993, during the Gulf War. On return to Australia, following a brief period in private practice, RADM Bayliss worked as the Clinical Director of Goulburn Base Hospital until his second retirement in the mid-2000s. Finally retired from clinical work, RADM Bayliss lived with his wife Marjorie in the Southern Highlands.  He pursued his hobbies of gardening, reading and travelling. During this time RADM Bayliss was recognised as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow for his public service to Australian and Naval medicine.

RADM Bayliss’ final years were challenged by ill health. He is survived by his wife Marjorie, and his two daughters, Associate Professor Dr Alexandra Jones PhD, and Rear Admiral Katherine Richards AM, CSC, RAN.  A memorial service was held at HMAS WATSON Chapel on 1 June  2022. 

RADM Bayliss was a widely respected and admired Naval Doctor. He was also a National Serviceman, a diver, a pilot, and an Officer of the Watch. His dedication to the nation and his family was shaped by the times in which he lived, the challenges he faced and his capacity to focus on the task at hand.