My first job on leaving school, aged just sixteen, was as a met assistant at London Airport. Very interesting and a great start to an aviation career. Job entailed reporting actual wx, plotting charts, tephigrams, etc. Was taught a great deal of met by the Panam flight despatcher who studied the charts and created the forecast for their transAtlantic departures (by special arrangement with Mr Oddie, the senior Met Officer.) I have always wondered if it was legal to use under eighteens for the night shift but too late now to sue the Met Office. Occasionally sat in the runway caravan in foggy conditions counting the number of runway lights I could see. Never understood why the runway controller couldn't do it, but even in 1947 "it ain't my job".
In 1988 or so having driven in thick fog from near Bicester to Luton to operate to BRU and back I phoned the duty forecaster at Bracknell to enquire on the likelyhood of diverting on my return four hours later. He admitted he had no knowledge of the fog I had passsed through.
In 1991 operating from BRU to OPO at night, knowing that the Portugese signals set up were on strike I phoned the "expert" to ask for a landing forecast. He told me that there was no information available. I said "you are a forecaster - look at the chart and tell me what you believe weather will be like. His reply was "did you go there last night? If so, probably the same". I had and it was but he was paid to tell me.
It has all gone down hill since I left the Met Office in Nov 1949 to join the RAF. ( I should point out that when I joined at LAP half the Met staff were serving RAF guys and girls.)
Nothing much seems to have improved since the time of ocean weather ships. Forecasters have no practical experience.
p.s. John Elias, are you still out there?