'Who are these Met blokes?' (continued)

It is not unreasonable to claim that the D.Met.S. comprised one of the most dedicated arms of the RAAF. It formed a well-knit group, one reason for which may have been that the nucleus of the group was an already well-established public service, with clear-cut aims, objectives and ethics of duty long known before the war. As well, many of the members came from similar social and educational backgrounds. The sense of unity was strong from the beginning, and newcomers caught on quickly, so that a happy combination of the Met. and the RAAF quietly emerged—a unique example of an independent special service operating smoothly within a larger all-embracing service.

Just the same, many of the older military die-hards never really quite worked out who those Met. blokes were. To many, they seemed to be something mysterious; they were scientific 'bods', 'weather prophets'—traditionally the butt of many hoary Jokes. On the other hand, some abstracted Met. personnel never quite fathomed how the rest of the RAAF functioned. Yet, in a general atmosphere of comradeship, of doing a job that had to be done, and of devotion to a common cause, both sets of blokes jumped in and worked happily and effectively together.

Bureau of Meteorology