Additional Staff

Another interesting staff member was Warrant Officer Harry Gilbert who had returned from service in the tropical islands (I think it was New Caledonia). A draftsman by profession Harry was inclined, after he had finished plotting observations on a chart, to draw the isobaric pattern, which he accomplished satisfactorily, thus demonstrating to his own satisfaction that meteorological officers were hardly needed to do the professional work.

Harry had developed, or liked to pretend to have developed, a condition popularly known as 'troppo'. This was a psychological state frequently occurring in military personnel who had spent a long period of isolation in the humid tropics on a diet lacking in essential vitamins. The manifestation of Harry's 'troppo' was his hallucination that he was always accompanied by a pet dog. He often joined us for lunch in a cafe to which he led the imaginary dog, on an imaginary lead, taking great care in crossing busy streets and ushering the imaginary dog under the cafe table with strict instructions to the dog to be quiet and settle down. After a prolonged period of Harry's erratic behaviour the imaginary dog was adopted by other staff in the office who often inquired about the dog's welfare. The presence of the dog under the table in the cafe became believable and some customers were convinced that it was there.

Bureau of Meteorology