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Australia

Ralph Aubrey Edward Holmes

Ralph was born in the bustling mid north town of (Petersburg) Peterborough, South Australia on the 9th March 1915. He was the eldest son of Olive (Ollie) and William who worked in the railways. Ralph and his younger brother Bryan both attended the Peterborough Primary School, Ralph gaining his Qualifying Certificate in 1927 then attending Peterborough High where he was the School Captain. Like his father and younger brother, he was a talented athlete, although aged 9 he sustained a broken left arm playing cricket.

After leaving high school, in 1934 Ralph travelled to Charters Towers in North Queensland to take up a position with All Souls’ School (run by the Church of England Brotherhood of Saint Barnabas). His local Peterborough community had several farewells for him, including a Dance at the Parish Hall where the High School Headmaster (Mr E Johnson) praised Ralph’s excellent qualities academically and on the sporting field. Ralph was presented with a wrist watch. The next evening, the Peterborough Tennis Club conducted another farewell at the home of Mr Bills, (Club President) where again Ralph’s sportsmanship and demeanour were praised. Ralph was presented with a fountain pen to enable him to keep in touch with the local community. His third farewell was by the Anglican Church where Ralph had been a choir member and server at the Altar. Rev Kendell-Baker was delighted that Ralph had gained the teaching position, despite the distance from home. His personal qualities were again praised and Ralph was presented with a travelling rug and money to purchase a book.  

By 1935 Ralph had joined the Bureau of Meteorology, beginning work in the Perth Divisional Office of the Bureau where, in his spare time, he made his mark as a professional foot runner. He was a tall, handsome young man with sparkling blue eyes and a wry sense of humour. Ralph’s alert, enquiring mind meant his potential for advancement was recognised by his senior officers and he was selected as a student in the Bureau's first formal Melbourne based Weather Officer training course in 1937 in the field of Aerodromes. Most of the students were of mature age, some officers with 26 years of service and like Ralph, with formal education that had not advanced beyond secondary school. They had acquired their knowledge of meteorology by learning on-the-job, working with older, more experienced colleagues. Ralph's training course was followed by a series of similar training courses for meteorologists, weather officers and observers.

After completing this course Ralph was posted to Darwin where he worked on the aerodrome providing meteorological services for internal air services and the fledgling Qantas service operating, with the cooperation of British Empire Airways, the London to Sydney air service.

The fact that a second world war was imminent produced a certain devil-may-care attitude among the trainees who were aware they may soon be serving as meteorologists in war theatres. Like Ralph many did become involved in hazardous situations in tropical areas. These men included Alan Martin, Bryan Rofe, Neil McRae and Keith Hannay.

Ralph was initially posted to Ambon (an island north of Darwin) as an officer of the RAAF Meteorological Service. The rapid advance of the Japanese down the Malayan peninsula in January 1942 meant Ambon became their objective and Ralph's service on that island was terminated when he departed on 30 January 1942 on the last overloaded RAAF Hudson aircraft to leave Ambon to be evacuated to Darwin. The island was occupied by the Japanese the following day.

Following his escape from Ambon, when en route by aircraft on a posting from Darwin to Perth, Ralph experienced a Japanese air-raid when his aircraft was refuelling in Broome. In this raid Japanese Zeros, fitted with long-range tanks, destroyed 16 Allied aircraft, some of which were flying boats moored off shore.

Having spent some time in the tropics, Ralph was somewhat emaciated when he first arrived in Brisbane, having endured the debilitating effects of the tropical climate, inadequate diet, and various tropical ailments. Being almost six foot (183cm) tall he weighed close to nine stone (126 pounds, 56kg). Subsequently he and a close colleague Bill Gibbs embarked on a competition to see who could reach 10 stone first. During their lunchtime walks through Brisbane streets penny-in-the-slot weighing machines were used to check their progress.

Ralph established the meteorological unit at Allied Headquarters, advising General MacArthur on meteorological aspects of war strategy. Ralph’s control of the meteorological section was distinguished by leadership by example rather than direction. His pleasant, informal manner created an office in which the distinction between officers and other ranks was barely discernible, with the result that staff respected and admired him and, infected by his enthusiasm, worked diligently and enthusiastically. One of the traits of his lively personality was an uncanny ability to mischievously label people with highly appropriate nicknames; and in return was also nicknamed 'Pinhead' because he took a rather small size in caps.

Buildings to accommodate RAAF Command Headquarters were erected on a site adjacent to the Victoria Park golf course, only two kilometres from the AMP building in the centre of the city of Brisbane, where the Allied Air Headquarters meteorological office was located. Ralph lived in the RAAF barracks at Victoria Park from the time of their erection.

In addition to his duties as officer-in-charge of the Allied Headquarters meteorological section in July 1942, Ralph shared the routine of producing forecasts and other information for Allied Air Headquarters. The only other staff at that time were Sgt 'Herbie' Whittingham and Cpl Leo Fitzgerald. The office was a single spartan room about ten by four metres containing a few simple tables and chairs, a map cabinet, and a tall cupboard. Ralph soon acquired a teleprinter, typewriter, charts and other essential material.

The RAAF Met. officers blazed a new trail in the hitherto mysterious field of tropical forecasting. At this stage, Ralph held the rank of Flight Lieutenant then was promoted to Squadron Leader in August 1943. The main responsibility was to provide General Douglas MacArthur and officers of his staff a daily briefing on the existing weather over the area of military operations in the South-west Pacific and likely developments in the immediate future. The leaders of this section were Squadron-Leader W. J. Gibbs of Sydney and Squadron-Leader Ralph Holmes of Perth. Brisbane became a garrison city during the war. The main task was to provide weather information to the senior Allied naval, army and air force staff. Consequently charts were drawn regularly to cover the whole of the South-West Pacific area from southern Australia to about latitude 30 degrees north, and from Malaya in the west to longitude 180 degrees. Advice prepared covered mainly tropical regions. The weather was largely an unknown quantity, the only point generally agreed upon being that some of the worst weather in the world would be encountered there.

Each morning about 10am Ralph and Bill Gibbs proceeded to a war room, on the floor of which was a very large map of the south-west Pacific area. This was viewed by MacArthur and his senior staff officers seated on a raised platform. Ralph or his colleague were 'first cab off the rank' in the briefing operation to which operations and intelligence officers also contributed. The briefing concentrated on weather conditions affecting military operations, cloud cover, heavy rain, strong winds, etc. but immediately after the briefing was finished Ralph and Bill departed on the principle that the fewer people with access to military plans the better. Bill Gibbs recall an occasion when a RAAF Wing-Commander asked for a forecast. When queried, ‘Where are you going and when?' 'Oh, I'm sorry', said the officer, I can't tell you that. It's secret. I just want a forecast'. He also added:

'Invariably, the commander of Allied Air Forces requested our opinion of weather conditions for some particular strike he was preparing. If we thought the weather would be adverse on the day he had in mind, we would be required to give a further opinion as to when the strike would be possible. Rocked us a bit at times, I can tell you, and there was a fair horse-power of prayer ascending heavenwards on the nights of some of the strikes'

In June 1943 General Kenney asked for a weather forecast for Nadzab in the Markham Valley in New Guinea for early September. In those years, it was impossible to make a weather forecast for more than a day or two ahead. Kenney explained that the forecast was needed for an Allied parachute attack on the Japanese airfield and said "Give me that forecast—that's an order". He explained that the projected operation was "top secret" and should not be discussed with other staff. He indicated that he required the forecast to be made available within a few days. Ralph and his colleague discussed their predicament and decided that the only 'forecast' which could be prepared was one based on the climate of the area.

They framed the 'forecast' based on local knowledge that fog and low cloud were frequently experienced in inland valleys in the early morning but usually dispersed soon after sunrise. Accordingly the next day, Ralph delivered the expectation that the most suitable time for a paratroop raid on Nadzab was about 10am. Consequently the 9th Division of the AIF, of which Ralph's brother Bryan was a member, made a successful amphibious assault near Lae on 4 September 1943.

Ralph married Joan Burrowes in 1942. Finally with the cessation of hostilities in 1945 those who returned to service in the Bureau carried with them memories of wartime camaraderie. The strong social bonds which developed led to the organisation of many shared leisure-time activities. Among these were regular Anzac-eve parties. The venue tended to change annually because the exuberant gatherings caused the proprietors to encourage the colleagues to seek another location for the following year. The Bureau Social Club organised two main functions each year—the Annual Ball and the Annual Picnic. The Annual Ball was a lively affair although somewhat more decorous than the Anzac-eve functions; no doubt because of the moderating presence of wives and girlfriends. The Annual Picnic, held at venues such as the Mt Evelyn Picnic Ground, was a family affair with races and other competitions for the children and the more active adults. The organisers, among whom Ralph Holmes was probably the hardest working, arranged that a number of orphan children would be guests and as the picnic was held in December, they and the other children would receive gifts from a bearded, red-robed, perspiring Father Christmas played by the Bureau cleaner, 'Nap' Napier. It was thirsty work, organising and participating in races, caring for children, preparing barbecue meals, and the organising committee had the foresight to arrange that a number of barrels of cold beer would be available, 'fives' and 'niners', so a good time was had by all.

In July 1946 the remaining staff and equipment of the RAAF Meteorological Service were transferred to the Bureau of Meteorology and the Bureau moved from the Department of Air back to the Department of the Interior. Ralph served the Bureau for 41 years, working in the Analysis Section and as a meteorologist in communications and facilities, and in operational services, retiring in 1976.

Ralph died in Melbourne on the 19th September, 1981.

This biography was provided by Ralph's niece, Kaye Lee (daughter of SB Holmes 2/48th battalion).