When war in Europe was over he was in Cockade during the last difficult months of the war in the Far East.Post-war he commanded a number of ships and as Senior Officer 104th Mine Sweeping Squadron was mentioned in dispatches in 1959 for his anti-terrorist actions against Eoka He then became the First Commander Sea Training at Portland. During the confrontation in Borneo with Indonesia in 1965-66, he commanded the Naval Forces and was also Joint Force Commander. Here he matched the unconventional guerrillas with his own unorthodoxy. He worked closely with the local population encouraging a “hearts-and-minds” policy that worked as a powerful deterrent to the marauding guerrillas.He was then appointed to command the crack anti-submarine Londonderry Squadron during which time on Galatea he was involved in the interception of an intruding Soviet submarine. He caused it to surface and escorted it to international waters off Ireland.

After this successful command he had two years as Captain of the Fleet as well as commanding a new guided missile destroyer, Bristol.In 1973 he became Chief of Staff to Naval Home Command and was then appointed Chief of Staff to Nato based in Naples. Now at the end of his distinguished career, he was cock-a-hoop when he flew his admiral’s flag in the American cruiser USS Biddle. This was a singular honour, and a most unusual distinction in a ship of another nation.Roddy Macdonald retired from the Royal Navy after 40 years of active service. But retirement was the last thing he was going to settle for. He kept up his naval connections and fell upon his great love, painting. In his house on the Isle of Skye, with its low ceilings like a naval wardroom and windows as small as portholes, there was a feeling of the briny.

There he was to paint and draw most of his major work: seascapes, views of Skye and some impressive paintings of the Falklands Campaign taken from notes of men who had served there He captured superbly the bleakness of those islands. He exhibited his paintings world-wide and illustrated a number of books.When not painting, he channelled his energy and organisational ability into the local community. As well as organising the conversion of the old school into a village hall and being instrumental in banning tankers from passing through the Minch, Macdonald became Chieftain of the Skye Highland Games. He had a great love of piping and recalled with relish, that during the war one of his COs had written in his annual report that Macdonald played the pipes. A letter came from their Lordships drawing the captain’s attention to the regulation that adverse reports should be underlined in red!Macdonald’s sight, which had seen and recorded so much, failed him a year ago He accepted it philosophically.