In retirement he was Captain of Deal Castle from 1972 to 1980. He was an Honorary Admiral in the Texan Navy and an Honorary Lance Corporal in the French Zuaves. He was the Commodore of the Royal Marines Sailing Club and the first Honorary Flag Officer. He was also a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron, the Royal Naval Sailing Association (Rear Commodore) and the Royal Cruising Club. His son, Ewen Southby-Tailyour, was also a Royal Marines officer, who served with distinction in Dhofar and the Falklands War: Norman Tailyour was also a yachtsman. His brother-in-law was a Royal Marines major, one nephew was a Royal Marines brigadier, a step-son was a Royal Marines captain and another nephew was a captain in the Royal Marines Reserve. His wife June (née Southby), whom he married in 1941 and who predeceased him in 1971, had trained as a doctor at Göttingen University (Germany) before the Second World War. Prior to her marriage June Southby was a nurse at St George's Hospital, London, then, being bilingual in German, she joined the WRNS as a 'decoder' of German signals at Chatham Naval Base, a sub-station of Station X, aka Bletchley Park.