Metmen in Wartime: Meteorology in Canada, 1939-1945

W.J.C. Cherwinski is a professor of history and Canadian Studies Program
supervisor at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He is the co-author
of Lectures in Canadian Labour and Working-Class History.

A sequel to Morley’s Forecasts for Flying (which examined weather
forecasting as it related to aviation up to the eve of the Second World
War), Metmen in Wartime confirms the general consensus about the war’s
impact on Canadian development, particularly in the realm of technology.
Unfortunately, that is the extent of the book’s interpretative
contribution. Otherwise, like the 13 illustrations it contains of
offices, aircraft, and meteorological staff assembled for official
photographs, the book is a static, rather tedious recitation of facts
that together constitute far more than one would ever want to know about
the details of Canadian weather forecasting and reporting in wartime.

The only revelation to emerge is an appreciation of the extent to which
Canada’s contribution to the war effort hinged on accurate weather
forecasting, particularly as it related to the British Commonwealth Air
Training Plan and the Allies’ activities in the North Atlantic. But
one searches in vain to discover how policy as it concerned metmen was
formulated so that its contribution would be of greatest benefit to
those in active service. Furthermore, the social relationship between
the meteorological service and those it served is still a mystery. In
short, Metmen in Wartime is an administrative study by one who
participated and is likely of interest primarily to those of like mind.