RAF Leeming's Senior Meteorological Officer's grass roots skills won him a background role in Hollywood's latest blockbuster movie, documenting the drama behind what has been described as the most important weather forecast in military history.
Pressure documents the tense run-up to Operation Overlord. Scottish meteorologist Group Captain James Stagg clashed with US Colonel Irving P Krick about the most favourable date for thousands of troops to land on Normandy beaches for D Day. Relying on historical patterns and analogue forecasting, Krick argued that the originally planned date of June 5 should go ahead. Stagg, however, stood firm in his analysis of intelligence from numerous weather station, predicting that invasion on 5 June would be disastrous.
Weather charts during World War II were drawn and plotted by hand – something that was still a core skill when Bill Shiel Dods joined the profession in 1984. Now more used to consulting radars and satellites, he was nonetheless curious two years ago when he heard that movie makers were seeking applications from forecasters who could calculate the old-fashioned way. He said: "I was sent a two-minute script, and my team videoed me plotting surface charts. I sent that off and thought I probably wouldn't hear anything – a few weeks later I went down to Borehamwood for a costume fitting!"
Filming took place at Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, where Bill was astonished by the attention to detail in the recreated forecast room. "It took me back to when I joined Met Office – it felt utterly authentic and charts looked absolutely spot on from the era. Even the ashtrays were full of cigarette butts! I was given a vintage watch to wear and prescription glasses. They even changed my hair because they said I looked to German!"
Bill was able to get up close to stars Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser but managed to not get too star struck. "People were just so busy and professional, trying to do a, a good job. The scene I'm in took pretty much a whole day to film. "
The Met Office to continues to play a vital role to the Royal Air Force, whether on operations, or helping to ensure safe flying for Stations across the UK. Pressure has served as a timely reminded of their importance. Bill said: "There is a real connection between what we do and what Stagg was doing. Met Officers give the best unbiased, unvarnished forecast that we can so that the military can make safe operational decisions. I can empathise with Stagg and to an extent with Crick as well. There were making decisions which were mission critical. It wasn't just people's lives at risk – it was the fate of the rest of the war. I could really put myself in his shoes."
