Warren Joins the Bureau (continued)

The majority of the male staff of the Bureau joined the RAAF in April 1941. Apart from a few who joined other branches of the armed services, the remaining male staff and all the female staff remained in the Bureau.

As the war progressed the RAAF Meteorological Service grew rapidly as suitably qualified RAAF personnel were mustered for training in the RAAF Meteorological Service. Later, after the formation of the Women's Australian Auxiliary Air Force (WAAAF), women in uniform joined the RAAF Meteorological Service.

At war's end some of the WAAAF who had served in the RAAF Meteorological Service chose to join the Bureau.

Stories of the RAAF Meteorological Service appear in the Metarch Papers of Cornish (1996), Gibbs (1995), Haldane (1997), Hannay (1994), Joyce (1993), Stout (1996) and Swan (1996).

Mellor (1958), in his contribution to the official war history, devoted a chapter to the history of the RAAF Meteorological Service.

The Haldane history, prepared in 1946 and edited in some detail by H. N. Warren and more recently by Don Handcock, gives the most comprehensive story but future historians will find all of the above publications contain valuable material.

When in 1944 the defeat of Germany and Italy in Europe and Japan in the Pacific seemed likely, H. N. Warren began to formulate plans for demobilisation of the RAAF Meteorological Service and the re-establishment and reorganisation of the Bureau. I have a copy of a letter from Warren dated 21 August 1945 addressed to Secretary, Department of Air (with a copy to Secretary, Department of the Interior). The copy bears no file number and was presumably confidential in nature.

In his letter Warren states that during the war he had retained responsibility for direction of the civilian component of the Meteorological Branch, Department of Air in addition to his responsibility for the RAAF Meteorological Service.

Bureau of Meteorology