Publications

The last three issues of WDRB, Nos 15, 16 and 17, appeared in June and December 1950 and August 1951. They contained articles by Brann, Garriock, Gotley, Griffiths, Kell and Tyler, Langford, Lillywhite (2), O'Mahony, Newman, and Mitchell from the Bureau, and Albrecht, Loewe, Radok and Radok and Grant from the Meteorological Section of the University of Melbourne. These articles in WDRB were mainly concerned with synoptic analysis and forecasting but one by Radok described a lee-wave disturbance near Melbourne, and another by Radok and Grant discussed a technique for cross-section analysis.

A new series of publications began with the issue of the AMM in July 1952. The unsigned foreword announced that, as advised in the previous issue of WDRB (No 17, August 1951), in future the WDRB "would be produced at yearly intervals . . . with an improved standard of printing in keeping with the technical nature of its contents". The AMM foreword also announced that the new publication would be a "real magazine, encouraging the exchange of views on all matters, both technical and personal, affecting members of the (Meteorological) Branch". AMM No 1 contained an article by W. J. Gibbs on techniques for reduction of pressure readings to mean sea level. The author of a recent article in AMM (Seaman, 1997) compares my proposal with other later methods and suggests that it had some merit.

Other articles in AMM No 1 were by Mizon (frost forecasting), Clarke (effect of the tropopause on thickness patterns) and Lloyd (movement of depressions). AMM No 1 also contained notes on the meetings of joint colloquia, CAWDS discussion groups and social news of Bureau activities.

The Scottish poet Robert Burns said that "the best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley". I was absent at MIT when the decisions on the WDRB and AMM were made. I think that on my return in 1952 I influenced Timcke not to proceed with the decision to publish an upgraded WDRB at yearly intervals. My view would have been to continue with the AMM as proposed and to publish any outstanding contributions in the Bureau's Bulletin series or seek publication in overseas journals.

The AMM began as a mixture of scientific articles, reports of colloquia and discussion groups and some rather racy social notes. By the time of E. W. Timcke's retirement in April 1955 eight issues of AMM had been published with 30 scientific articles of good quality, reports of the monthly colloquia and weekly discussion groups and notes on social activities and staff movements.

During this period issues of the AMM were reproduced using wax stencils, which were also used for the reproduction of diagrams and the cardboard cover. The quality of reproduction was primitive but the standard of the papers submitted by Bureau staff, and by Uwe Radok and other university and CSIRO people, was good.

Bureau of Meteorology