Climate and Statistics (continued)

His university studies were interrupted by the transfer of most of staff of the Bureau into the RAAF Meteorological Service. Des recalls with happy memories his time in Central Office while being inducted into the RAAF with "Doc Treloar, writing his own style of English—not to be corrected—and, as an instant officer in squadron leader's uniform, waving his umbrella in response to salutes from the rank and file".

Des's war service is of such interest that it is worth repeating here. With Arch Shields he served with the RAAF in Noemfoor and Morotai in what was then Netherlands East Indies. He was a member of a special five-man detachment of the RAAF First Tactical Air Force assigned to the Allied landing force attacking Tarakan, in Borneo.

At the tender age of 24 he was the meteorological officer responsible for advising General Wooten who was in charge of AIF forces in the landing. In a note Des has written that "the General looked at me and said 'we want a forecast each day at 2 pm for the next day. On your forecast we will decide what type of aircraft to use in support'. 'Yes Sir' I said but I thought 'oh shit'".

Des's forecasts, produced with the usual completely inadequate data, earned a special mention from Normie Warren on his return after 18 months service.

After the war Des returned to Sydney where he completed his degree under the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme and became a forecaster at Rose Bay for the TEAL flying-boats.

In 1949 he was promoted to the position of statistical officer in the Climate Section and, on Normie Warren's direction, spent some time in the Bureau of Statistics in Canberra, learning about Hollerith punch-cards. This enabled him to supervise the introduction of the Hollerith system of punch-cards, sorters and tabulators for the recording and processing of the Bureau's climatological data bank.

Bureau of Meteorology