I recall the relief we felt when the Japanese surrendered to General MacArthur in Japan on the battleship USS Missouri on 2 September 1945. It seemed appropriate that the ferocity of their armed forces should have been curbed by the ultimate weapon—the atomic bomb. Much later, we would become aware of the horror of the destruction of human life in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The war had affected the lives of millions of people. Audrey and I had been fortunate to escape the difficulties that many others had experienced in the South-west Pacific, Asia and Europe. Being young, we were resilient in coping with the dislocations the war brought. I had the satisfaction of being engaged in a challenging and stimulating occupation. Audrey had had a more stressful time than I.

After a brief celebration of the end of the war, we resumed our work in the office at RAAF Command. We were all anxious to begin our new peacetime careers but on enlistment we had signed to serve in the RAAF for the duration of the war and twelve months thereafter. Demobilisation of those who were not remaining with the Bureau of Meteorology was given priority. The RAAF Meteorological Service was not wound up until July 1946 when the last of its members, including Group Captain H. N. Warren, were demobilised.

Bureau of Meteorology