Somerford Teagle


Sir Somerford Francis Teagle is a retired senior officer of the Royal New Zealand Navy. He served as Chief of Naval Staff, the professional head of the RNZN, from 1989 to 1991, and in New Zealand's most senior military post as Chief of Defence Force from 1991 until his retirement in 1995. He is notable for having ended the rum ration in the RNZN, with effect from March 1990.
In 1977, Teagle received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, and in 1990 he was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. In the 1994 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.