Meteorological Training

We went to classes every day, six days a week. We had Sundays off. When that was finished then it was necessary for us to have practical training. So we were all dispatched to be assistants to meteorological officers on airfields. Usually, I think invariably RAF stations and I went to a place called Dunsfold.There were a couple of squadrons of Mitchell bombers on that airfield and it was kind of interesting and a bit of fun. The next thing I knew I was sent to a sector headquarters that was at Tangmere which is on the coast, south coast and that’s, it was a fighter base and it was a sector belonging to the air defence of Great Britain. So this was a notch up. I was then sent to the Eleven Group Headquarters at Oxbridge and Eleven Group was there and Eleven Group was where the air defence of Great Britain was controlled, and they had quite a big staff of meteorologists.

Mr. Aitken describes the various levels of training he passed through as his credentials were upgraded.

John Aitken

John Aitken was born June 4, 1917, in Kenora, Ontario. He was the eldest of three children. His family moved to Medicine Hat, Alberta, where his father worked as a flour miller. After graduating high school at age seventeen, Mr. Aitken became a teacher and then school principal. He graduated from university in 1942. Mr. Aitken initially enlisted in the artillery, but after his arrival in England was selected to train as a meteorologist. As the war progressed he achieved the highest level possible, Independent Forecaster. After the war, Mr. Aitken continued a distinguished military career, retiring with the rank of Lieutenant.