Simon Harley
@simonharley
Naval historian. Motorbikes sales. Retired hygiene operative and parliamentary intern. The Royal Navy 1854-1919 is my area of expertise. Also at @navyhistorian.
My first article, for @NauticalHistory, on Lord Fisher's advice to Winston Churchill: dx.doi.org/10.1080/002533…
Hey, @grok, who is the most famous person to view my profile? Just give me a name.
My kind of rail replacement bus.
Imagine President Trump being herded onto an airport bus like a budget airline passenger. That’s how China just welcomed the EU.
Britain taking on a “peer” competitor:
Bold claim for a military w/ land forces at 30% medically undeployable; an armoured division w/ 2 regiments worth of tanks; & Royal Navy with 0 amphibious assault ships; & an Air Force with 2 sqds of 5th gen fighters. Britain ‘ready to fight’ over Taiwan share.google/XzJPlaG6b5bOA1…
Allegedly, Chinese interest dates from when someone allowed the Australian aircraft carrier Melbourne to be scrapped in China.
China's interest in aircraft carriers started decades ago. In 2000, China bought the Soviet carrier Kiev, turning it into a theme park in Tianjin that opened in 2006. I was one of the visitors nearly 20 years ago.
For some reason I had a nightmare involving a rigid airship last night, involving climbing a ladder to it while it was high off the ground. I’m terrified of heights, so God knows what I ate yesterday to create such a hideous vision.
Happy Gilmore 2 was hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. Worth the wait.
So much to unpack here. The pointless "Stop Trump|Free Gaza" signs. Up to £1,000 a round at his course. The Scottish government spaffing £180,000 towards a tournament at one of his other courses. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…
Always a joy to see this on tv. Apparently they were drinking real wine over several takes.
On NavWeaps some people are complaining about Wikipedia’s strict rules on primary sources. When I see how people misinterpret secondary sources, I thank God they aren’t allowed to misinterpret primary sources there! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia…
The issues with The Dreadnought Project site have hopefully been resolved now. Thank you for your patience during this difficult time!
I’ve seen things on the NavWeaps forum you wouldn’t believe.
It’s a balmy July night, 21 degrees C outside, and TV4 has got Snowroller on television. Lasse Åberg must be sweating his moustache off.
My father got a Volkswagen convertible out of Motability. Absolutely inappropriate for an above-knee amputee, but he still got it. This scheme/scam needs rebuilding from the ground up.
Row Erupts Over Motability Check Website as Free Luxury Car Scandal Rolls On order-order.com/2025/07/25/row…
Lots of people fondly remembering Thunder in Paradise right now.
A crew of 21 for a ship over 1,000 feet long. Amazing, really.
CMA CGM Phoenix Becomes Largest Containership Ever to Fly U.S. Flag gcaptain.com/cma-cgm-phoeni…
I was feeling guilty when I realised there was a collection of papers at the Imperial War Museum I hadn’t consulted, one a former Keeper allegedly described as ‘a significant historical source’. Then I saw it’s not even in their catalogue. I don’t feel guilty now, just annoyed.
Yorkshire folk when they see the proposed development of Melbourne’s Parliament House:
