work during this time. In late 1941, Secombe transferred to I Corps headquarters as deputy-director, supply and transport. His new corps soon moved to the South West Pacific Area, and he was based firstly in Java and then in Australia. He was responsible for construction and lines of communication in New Guinea during the campaign there against the Japanese Empire. He held a succession of administrative posts for the remainder of the war. He was mentioned in despatches in 1943 and again after the war, in 1947. Following the Japanese surrender he was appointed the deputy quartermaster-general for the Army, and in 1946 became the Engineer-in-Chief of the General Staff. Promoted to major general in early 1949, he was Master-General of Ordnance for nearly two years until he was appointed commander of Northern Command, based in Brisbane. His period in charge lasted for 12 months before he took over Eastern Command, based in Sydney. He later returned to Northern Command. He retired from the army on 4 April 1954 as an honorary lieutenant general. Later life In 1955, Secombe was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath. The same year, he was made colonel commandant of the RAE. In his retirement, he took up cattle farming on a 10,000 acre (4047 ha) property near Gatton, in Queensland. He later purchased an orchard at Kenmore. He died of cancer on 3 February 1962 in the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, South Brisbane, and was buried in Toowong Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, whom he married in 1929, and two children. A son, also a graduate of Duntroon, predeceased him. References External links Photos at AWM: 1942; 1941;1941; 1944 1897 births 1962 deaths Military personnel from Victoria (Australia) Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Australian Companions of the Order of the Bath Australian generals Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian orchardists Burials at Toowong Cemetery Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates Australian military engineers