Tag Archives: royal navy

What would Nelson say?

By Simon McGrath | Tue 21st October 2025 - 11:17 am

Embed from Getty ImagesToday is Trafalgar Day – the 220th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar

When I attend meetings in the Council Chamber in Merton, it’s impossible to ignore the Borough’s most famous inhabitant: a huge picture of Admiral Lord Nelson looks down on the assembled Councillors.

Today is the 220th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, which cemented Britain’s naval supremacy. I wonder what Nelson would make of the Royal Navy today, which cannot properly defend us. The core problem traces back to Tony Blair’s expeditionary foreign policy and its emphasis on distant wars. To support this, his government commissioned two large aircraft carriers designed for offshore bombardment and troop support.

In principle, that’s fine. Unfortunately, the focus on these two large ships means the Royal Navy cannot reliably carry out its most basic task: keeping our sea lanes open to receive vital supplies. 95% of our trade is carried by sea, including 66% of our gas supply. The risk isn’t just cargo ships being sunk; we also rely on pipelines from Norway, cross-channel power cables, and the huge web of critical undersea communications cables.

Posted in News | Also tagged nelson and trafalgar day | 9 Comments

Paddy: Royal Marines paying the price of two floating white elephants

By Paul Walter | Wed 12th April 2017 - 11:10 am

Embed from Getty Images

In a typically passionate and knowledgeable intervention, ex-Royal Marine Paddy Ashdown has attacked cuts of 200 posts in his former fighting unit:

In an unpredictable age, we need forces that are fast, flexible and mobile. That’s what the Royal Marines do at a world-class level.

To cut their numbers to fill a Naval manpower black hole is not just poor reward for their service over the last years, but a folly which plays fast and loose with the nation’s defences.

The Royal Marines have carried the greatest burden in the defence of our country over the last decade – they have fought in more theatres and won more battles than any other British unit. They are also the crucial manpower pool from which we draw many of our Special Forces.

Posted in News | Also tagged aircraft carriers, defence, paddy ashdown and royal marines | 10 Comments

Tracking the Royal Navy: data visualisation meets open government

By Mark Pack | Tue 7th September 2010 - 11:25 am

Over on the Royal Navy’s website is a striking map, showing where all the navy’s main vessels are currently deployed. It’s striking for two reasons. First, it demonstrates how the current drive towards opening up government data and presenting it in visually illuminating ways is reaching all sorts of unlikely corners of the public sector. Second, twenty-five years ago that sort of openness would have been unthinkable. The security needs the navy has to meet now are very different from those of the Cold War.

HMS Chiddingfold …