--delete & --files-from can't be used as a purge list. Alternate strategy suggestions?

[Simon]

Hi,

N.B. rsync version 2.6.2 on Linux, no rsync server, using SSH

THE PROBLEM

rsync --delete 
--files-from=<FILES_ON_MASTER_TO_BE_DEL_AND_NOT_ON_SECONDARY> -e ssh 
-... <SECONDARY_HOST>:<BASEDIR> <BASEDIR>

generates error:

receiving file list ... link_stat "<EXAMPLE_FILE_NOT_ON_SECONDARY" 
failed: No such file or directory

and does not have the desired effect of deleting the remote file 
EXAMPLE_FILE_NOT_ON_SECONDARY on the MASTER host.

Looking around it would appear --delete works upon directory updates, 
but there is nothing in the documentation that indicates that options in 
the example above cannot be used in this way.

Can anybody suggest alternative strategies to achieve a similar effect?

THE BACKGROUND

In lieu of bidirectional synchronisation capabilities I am approximating 
  with:

Full:
* Full rsync with --delete from master to secondary after doing an 
incremental.

Incremental:
* Update secondary to master with --files-from based on secondary find . 
-newer <marker from full sync>
* Update master to secondary with --files-from based on master find . 
-newer <marker from full sync>

I wish to enhance this to try a limit transient files on the secondary 
migrating to the master by accumulating the list of files created / 
updated on the secondary, and if these were subsequently deleted on the 
secondary then any copies propogated to the master should be deleted, so:

* (after incremental) update secondary to master with --delete and 
--files-from based on secondary accumulation


Thanks for any help,

Simon