The Met Office in WW1

[Grey Havoc]

The Meteorological Office was not involved in military forecasting from the outbreak of the First World War. Although support was offered at the outbreak of the war the response from the British Army was that 'the army does not go to war with umbrellas'. Attitudes changed following losses in the air and on the ground and the deployment of gas as a weapon on the battlefield.

The Meteorological Field Service, universally known as Meteor R.E. was established in the summer of 1915 and operated from the British Expeditionary Force General Headquarters at Montreuil, France. The staff comprised Major H.G. Lyons, Royal Engineers, who would run the organisation and two Meteorological Office staff; Ernest Gold and AEM Geddes who were granted temporary commissions in the General List of Captain and Lieutenant respectively. The service was supported by the Meteorological Office in London which became operational 24/7 for the first time.

The Met Office in WW1

Ernest Gold and the First Operational Military Forecast 24 October 1916

www.metoffice.gov.uk

Although it took time for the impact of weather on the battlefield to be fully acknowledged and understood it was a lesson that was not forgotten. By 1918 weather forecasting had become a firmly embedded element of British military strategy. Met Office personnel played key roles on all fronts in WW2, most famously advising on the planning of Operation Overlord and providing key forecasts in the run-up to D-Day. British forces around the globe continue to be supported by Met Office staff serving with the Mobile Meteorological Unit.