Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Douglas (Tim) Vincent, (10 March 1916 – 8 October 1995) was a senior officer in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

, seeing active service during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Graduating from the

Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state = ...

in 1938 into the Signals Corps, he volunteered for service in the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

soon after the outbreak of the Second World War and served in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

and

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

. Later, he served as Commander Australian Force Vietnam (COMAFV) during the Vietnam War. After a number of senior staff positions he retired in 1973. He was actively involved in defence issues in his retirement and served as a chairperson of the

Returned and Services League of Australia The Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) is a support organisation for people who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force. Mission The RSL's mission is to ensure that programs are in place for the well-being, care ...

(RSL) prior to his death.

Early life and education

Vincent was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Queensland, on 10 March 1916, the son of William Vincent. For much of his life he was better known as Tim. Educated at

Brisbane State High School , motto_translation = Knowledge is Power , city = South Brisbane , state = Queensland , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Public, selective, co-educational, secondary, ...

, he entered the

in 1935 to pursue a career in the

as a regular officer.

Military career

Vincent graduated as a lieutenant in the Permanent Military Forces (PMF) in December 1938 as the Army began to expand in response to growing tension in Europe and the Pacific, and was allocated to the

Royal Australian Corps of Signals The Royal Australian Corps of Signals (RASigs) is one of the 'arms' (combat support corps) of the Australian Army. It is responsible for installing, maintaining, and operating all types of telecommunications equipment and information systems. The m ...

.. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, he volunteered for service with the Second Australian Imperial Force on 10 May 1940. He subsequently served as adjutant of the 7th Division signals during the

Syria–Lebanon Campaign The Syria–Lebanon campaign, also known as Operation Exporter, was the Allied invasion of Syria and Lebanon (then controlled by Vichy France) in June and July 1941, during the Second World War. The French had ceded autonomy to Syria in Septembe ...

in 1941 against the Vichy French, and later commanded the 25th Brigade signals. On return to Australia he completed a number of staff and instructional postings until early 1944. In 1944, he was one of 13 Australian Army officers attached to the British Army, which was then preparing for the

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

, to gain experience in planning and conducting large-scale

amphibious operations Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted ...

. By then a major, Vincent was attached to the headquarters of the British XXX Corps and was involved in planning the landing. Later, after going ashore the day after D-Day, he served with the XXX Corps as well as the 7th Armoured and

43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division The 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division was an infantry division of Britain's Territorial Army (TA). The division was first formed in 1908, as the Wessex Division. During the First World War, it was broken-up and never served as a complete formatio ...

s during the advance across northern France and Belgium. The 43rd Infantry Division was involved in the

Battle of Arnhem The Battle of Arnhem was a battle of the Second World War at the vanguard of the Allied Operation Market Garden. It was fought in and around the Dutch city of Arnhem, the town of Oosterbeek, the villages Wolfheze and Driel and the vicinity fro ...

, during which Vincent commanded the divisional signals regiment. For his service in Western Europe he was later

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. In December 1944 he again returned to Australia and was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

before taking command of the signals unit attached to the I Australian Corps, which was subsequently involved in the amphibious landings on Tarakan, Labuan and Balikpapan against the Japanese during the

Borneo Campaign The Borneo campaign or Second Battle of Borneo was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area during World War II to liberate Japanese-held British Borneo and Dutch Borneo. Designated collectively as Operation Oboe, ...

in 1945. Following the end of the war Vincent held a number of senior appointments in the Signal Corps, including as Director of Signals between 1954 and 1958. As a colonel he was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

Queen's Birthday Honours List The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

on 12 June 1958 in recognition of his service to the

Australian Staff Corps The Australian Staff Corps was a small corps of Regular Army officers who were trained in staff duties and who were largely responsible for the training of the Militia, Australia’s part-time military force, during the inter-war period and in t ...

. Promoted to brigadier in 1962, he commanded the Australian Army Force in the

Far East Land Forces The Far East Command was a British military command which had 2 distinct periods. These were firstly, 18 November 1940 – 7 January 1942 succeeded by the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command ( ABDACOM), and secondly, 1963–1971 succeeded ...

, headquartered in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, during which he gained an understanding of the situation in Vietnam. He commanded the 1st Task Force between 1963 and 1965, and was involved in preparing infantry battalions prior to their deployment to Vietnam. In mid-1966 he was promoted to major general and assumed command of the 1st Division.. Vincent took over as Commander, Australian Force Vietnam (COMAFV) in Saigon on 29 January 1967 from Major General Ken Mackay, a former classmate at Duntroon, due to the latter's illness. During his period in Vietnam the size of the Australian force in

Phuoc Tuy Province Phước ( vi, Phước) is a common gender-neutral name originating from Vietnam. It means "blessing" or "lucky". Notable people with this name include: Given name *Lưu Hữu Phước Lưu Hữu Phước (12 September 1921 in Cần Thơ, Coch ...

grew significantly and he was instrumental in the eventual deployment of

Centurion tank The Centurion was the primary British Army main battle tank of the post-World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing ...

s to the theatre, while he also approved the deployment of the

1st Australian Task Force The 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) was a brigade-sized formation which commanded Australian and New Zealand Army units deployed to South Vietnam between 1966 and 1972. 1 ATF was based in a rubber plantation at Nui Dat, north of Bà Rịa i ...

out of the province in late-1967 and its use in helping to disrupt the Viet Cong

Tet Offensive The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the forces o ...

in January 1968. Vincent was replaced as COMAFV on 30 January 1968. During 1968 and 1969 Vincent was posted to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

as head of the Australian Joint Service Staff. He was made a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

in 1969. Returning to Australia in 1970 he served on the Military Board as Adjutant-General until he retired in 1973.

Retirement

In his later years Vincent remained interested in military issues and was the defence advisor to the

(RSL) from 1975 to 1993 and the chief commissioner of the RSL Australian Forces Overseas Fund. A qualified military pilot, he took a keen interest in the development of Army Aviation and became honorary colonel of the Australian Army Aviation Corps. In 1994 he was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in the

Australia Day Honours The Australian honours and awards system refers to all orders, decorations, and medals, as instituted by letters patent from the Monarch of Australia and countersigned by the Australian prime minister at the time, that have been progressively int ...

for his service to the veterans community. He died unexpectedly at his home in Canberra on 8 October 1995, aged 79. He was survived by his wife Margaret and their three children and three grandchildren.

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vincent, Douglas 1916 births 1995 deaths Military personnel from Brisbane Australian generals Australian military personnel of the Vietnam War Australian Army personnel of World War II Companions of the Order of the Bath Members of the Order of Australia Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Brisbane State High School People from Brisbane Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates