Most of the contributors will be known to the older 'techs' and some who are legends in one way or another will still be familiar to the newer. It was not an easy job to get information since, alas, many of the early day 'techs' have passed on to the big weather station up top. Some who I did manage to trace were incapacitated in one way or another, and some again were just not traceable even through the Frosterley Clubs and the Bureau's offices. There were some who promised to submit something, but didn't. All in all, my only regret is that I didn't start this project 10 years ago.

Although this Metarch Paper is about 'techs', their lives, their jobs and their ups and downs, I must record the 'techs' appreciation of the Engineers and other technical support groups in Head Office for just that, viz, their support. Some names come to mind readily and if I miss any put it down to my bad memory. I remember Geoff (Benny) Goodman, John Ellis, John Ryan, Don Seedsman, Mike Hassett, Ken Johnston (who was always borrowing my soldering iron), Keith Henderson, Ralph de la Lande, Gwyn Court (my boss when I was acceptance testing WF2 Radars), Alf West (what he doesn't know about 'met' radars isn't worth knowing), Bill Hite (who followed me commissioning WF44 radars and who is now maintenance chief) and, of course, my boss in the Installation Section Tony (Savoury Crackers) Savory who was a good bloke but, alas, believed in that myth probably perpetrated by Gilbery that 'the West is the best'. Not a real bad egg amongst the lot of them.

In the workshops there was Colin Maxfield (never short of a word, our Col) and Brian Baker who were handy to keep on side. I also remember Rex Moncur who was the radiosonde king in the early days before he rose to his now exalted position as Director of the Antarctic Division in Hobart.

What follows are the stories of some of the Bureau's 'techs'. I trust they are to your liking.

Bureau of Meteorology