If I list months as Jan Feb Mar in a column and copy the sequence then
Apr May Jun Jul .... will appear. Not sure this is relevant to my
query below but shows me that excel recognises this date format.

However, if I have a list that is say;

Dec
Apr
Jun
Jan
Apr
Nov

I want it to sort so that the months and the rest of the row go in the
correct order by date, as below:

Jan
Apr
Apr
Jun
Nov
Dec

Instead, I can only get it to sort alpha order, as below:

Apr
Apr
Dec
Jan
Jun
Nov

Is there a way that I can get excel to sort my rows using the date
format I want in that one date column?

Any advice appreciated.
Colin