Page wrote to Curtin in April 1942 that since January he had been through "the worst period of acute mental distress of my whole life". His tenure was not regarded as a success, and he was said to have suffered from a lack of experience in diplomacy. Field Marshal Alan Brooke, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, recalled that in war cabinet meetings he had "the mentality of a greengrocer". Page left London in June 1942 following a severe bout of pneumonia. He had been made a Companion of Honour (CH) before his departure. He returned to Australia in August, travelling via the United States, and quickly turned his attention to planning for post-war reconstruction.