Post-War Reorganisation (continued)

The fourth person to be involved was young Tom Hall who had joined the Bureau as a messenger boy in 1936. He returned to the Bureau in January 1946 after serving with the RAF flying Typhoon ground attack aircraft, his efforts being recognised by the award of a DFC. He resumed his career with the Bureau as a clerk in the Personnel Section and was heavily involved in assisting in getting the civilian Bureau back into action. Tom says that "considerable effort was required to arrange the permanent Public Service appointment of RAAF Meteorological Service staff who had RAAF meteorological duties equivalent to civil weather officers, observers grades 1 and 2, radiosonde operators and mechanics". Tom also remarks that "in order to keep the meteorological services operating a considerable number of persons had to be temporarily employed". Tom further states that "over that period all personnel functions, including transfers to and from all stations in Australia and adjoining territories were vested in Central Office in Melbourne".

Figure 7 Tom Hall, another of the Bureau's wartime heroes, and the RAF Typhoon aircraft which he piloted as a 21 year old in action in Europe. Starting in the Bureau as a messenger boy in the 1930s, Tom made a significant contribution to the development of the Bureau in post-war years. The above photographs appeared in the Melbourne Age of 23 October 1995 accompanying an article by Tom's granddaughter Carla Duggan for which she won a competition award.

The contribution of the management staff in a technical organisation such as the Bureau is often overlooked. In the early post-war days it was vitally important.

Bureau of Meteorology