Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

"Vincent was born in Brisbane, 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, he entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1935 to pursue a career in the Australian Army as a regular officer. Graduating 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, he was allocated to the Royal Australian Corps of Signals. Following the outbreak of the Second World War Vincent 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 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 subsequently one of 13 Australian Army officers attached to the British Army which was then preparing for the invasion of Normandy to gain experience in planning and conducting large-scale amphibious operations. By then a major, Vincent was attached to the headquarters of the British Corps and was involved in planning the landing. Later, after going ashore the day after D-Day, he served with the ? Corps as well as the 7th Armoured and 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Divisions during the advance across northern France and Belgium. The 43rd Infantry Division was subsequently involved in the Battle of Arnhem, during which Vincent commanded the divisional signals regiment. For his service in Western Europe he was later Mentioned in Despatches. In December 1944 he again returned to Australia and was promoted to lieutenant colonel before taking command of the signals unit attached to the 1st Australian Corps which was subsequently involved in the amphibious landings on Tarakan, Labuan and Balikpapan against the Japanese during the Borneo Campaign in 1945..." - READ MORE LINK (en.wikipedia.org)