Matthew Willis (Naval Air History)
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navalairhistory.com
Matthew Willis (Naval Air History)
@navalairhistory.com
6.3K followers 580 following 27K posts
Writer naval/aviation history. Words. Art. Photography. Silken Windhounds. He/him. Free Palestine. Cannot receive DMs
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navalairhistory.com
The Streeting article photoshopped so Streeting appears to be wearing the hot dog costume from the sketch in I Think You Should Leave. The headline reads 'Ignore the smears: We're all trying to find the guy who did this. Wes Streeting' The subheader reads 'Someone drove a hot dog-shaped car through the window. Whoever did this, we promise we won't be mad' and the linked headline below reads 'Streeting wrote off his hot dog-shaped car in WhatsApp exchanges with his insurer'
February 10, 2026 at 6:52 PM
navalairhistory.com
New issue of Aeroplane is out in which I have two features as part of the Spitfire 90th anniversary special. A piece on the Spit's cultural importance, and one on its strengths and weaknesses. My Dad also gets in on the act
Cover of the March 2026 Aeroplane with an artwork of the prototype Spitfire Feature article 'National Treasure' intro: 'No other aircraft holds the same place in British history, and most specifically British culture, than the Spitfire. Right from the start, it was the subject of fascination. Nine decades later, it still is' Feature article 'Baptism of Fire' intro: 'Where in WW2 did the Spitfire excel, and where was it found wanting? Its 90th anniversary allows us to reassess its record.' Close up of part of the page of the cultural history article, with a photo of a two seat Spitfire taking off, the caption noting 'On this occasion the author's father was in the back seat, with Charlie Brown up front'
February 10, 2026 at 11:15 AM
navalairhistory.com
And Streeting's partner Joe Dancey was also a parliamentary advisor to Mandelson www.bbntimes.com/politics/mee...
Education and Entry into Politics Dancey's academic trajectory at Oxford University marked the crucible for his political ambitions, where the rarefied air of tutorials on Keynesian economics and Burkean conservatism sharpened his analytical edge. Majoring in PPE—a breeding ground for future MPs and mandarins—he immersed himself in debates at the Oxford Union, advocating for regional development and workers' rights, themes echoing his Teesside upbringing. Graduating in the early 2000s, he bypassed the typical City finance route, instead channeling his energies into Labour's machinery. His entry-level foray came as a special adviser to New Labour heavyweights, including Baroness Valerie Amos, the trailblazing international development secretary, and Lord Peter Mandelson, the spin doctor extraordinaire whose media savvy Dancey emulated.
February 9, 2026 at 8:34 PM
navalairhistory.com
Sure, Jan

From Politico:
For whom the Wes tolls: In one of those classic Westminster freaks of timing, one of the ministers most well known for being (formerly) close to Mandelson is just about to embark on a series of interviews. Expect Wes Streeting to make it very clear — for the second day in a row — that he has burned that particular bridge. He’s launching Labour’s national cancer plan and has a full round of morning interviews, as well as an LBC phone-in after PMQs. Supper club: The Times’ lobby team points out that Streeting and his partner, the former Labour official Joe Dancey, were regular fixtures at a supper club hosted by peer Roger Liddle, along with officials including McSweeney. Starmer, never quite as close to Mandelson as his Svengali, seemingly never got involved in the dinner circuit. You could suggest the PM has less to lose than others in government if cosy Labour texts to Mandelson ended up in the public domain.
February 9, 2026 at 8:24 PM
navalairhistory.com
Repost with a photo of yours that would make a good album cover
Photo of the crypt at Winchester Cathedral, a long stone vaulted space supported by round arches. The floor is flooded, the water reflecting the roof so perfectly it almost seems like a tunnel. In the centre is an iron sculpture of a man, standing half-facing the viewer, regarding its hands. It is up to its calves in water
February 8, 2026 at 9:31 PM
navalairhistory.com
Brad Dourif playing mentat Piter de Vries in David Lynch’s Dune (1980-something)
February 8, 2026 at 3:07 PM
navalairhistory.com
A Solent (at Oakland Aviation Museum) played the role of a Pan-Am Clipper in Raiders of the Lost Ark
Still from Raiders of the Lost Ark showing passengers boarding a large four engine flying boat from a pier, with docks in the background
February 8, 2026 at 1:04 PM
navalairhistory.com
Anyway, I thoroughly recommend the tour, but be warned, it’s advisable to book in advance as there are only a few tours each week and they can only take a maximum of 12 people. It also costs £17.60 on top of the general admission ticket - worth it, but makes for a fairly expensive day.
The cover of the Winchester cathedral guide book showing the west front
February 7, 2026 at 10:47 PM
navalairhistory.com
Then it was out onto the roof of the Nave - there’s a narrow walkway between the pitched roof and the outer parapet. Again, I failed to take any phone pics of this but it was here on this model
A model of Winchester Cathedral in its current form from the Kings and Scribes exhibition, with the area of roof open to the tour ringed in red
February 7, 2026 at 10:44 PM
navalairhistory.com
This is apparently the highest window in the cathedral, in the west front above the huge stained glass west window. Not the graffiti carved into the stone pillars
A row of narrow windows with trefoil heads The uprights between the windows showing a good deal of historical graffiti carved into the stone
February 7, 2026 at 10:37 PM
navalairhistory.com
Then back down and into the roof space above the Nave. The stone of the C14 vaulted roof is apparently about a foot thick and effectively self-supporting. Amazing mediaeval engineering…
The timber roof structure above the vaulted ceiling Looking back along the roof space from the west end Looking down into one of the vaults. The remains of a Norman column buried in the wall during the Gothic modifications can be seen. The lower joists are original Norman from the 1090s, the higher ones are Victorian The complex timber roof trusses. Through thin wood laths, the lead skin of the outer roof is visible
February 7, 2026 at 10:25 PM
navalairhistory.com
The decoration in these spaces where nobody but the bellringers will see it suggests that the tower may have been meant to be taller, with belfry floors above. But perhaps the money ran out, or someone got twitchy about it falling down. It means Winchester has a rather stubby tower…
Winchester Cathedral from the outside, showing the somewhat low tower compared with many other mediaeval cathedrals
February 7, 2026 at 10:02 PM
navalairhistory.com
The original crossing tower fell down in 1107 and was rebuilt in slightly later Norman Romanesque style. It may have been intended for a lantern stage as what‘s now the bell chamber and the chamber below for the bellringers are richly decorated with these chevron and star markings round the arches…
Close-up of the decoration around the top of a Norman arch, with characteristic ‘zig-zag’ stone carvings The bellringers’ chamber beneath the belfry with the same decorated Norman arches, mounted on triple round columns. The bellropes can be seen hanging from the ceiling The bellringers’ chamber beneath the belfry with the same decorated Norman arches, mounted on triple round columns. The bellropes can be seen hanging from the ceiling
February 7, 2026 at 9:58 PM
navalairhistory.com
Some more pics of the bells, and the substantial timber ‘raft‘ on which they are mounted, in the typically English style stood upside down, from where they can swing through 360 degrees in either direction…
The centre of the belfry showing the heavy timber framework ‘raft’ in which the bells, mounted upside down on wooden wheels, are installed The newest bronze bell, brought to Winchester Cathedral 400 years ago, on a separate stand next to the main ‘raft’ mounted to a wheel on the left sidd Looking up into the roof of the belfry, framed with heavy timbers, diagonally bracing the ceiling from the walls. The walls are pierced with a number of Norman round arches, capped by dog-tooth decorated borders
February 7, 2026 at 9:14 PM
navalairhistory.com
We got up to the belfry, via some rather narrow spiral stone steps, just in time to hear the chimes for midday…
February 7, 2026 at 9:01 PM
navalairhistory.com
I have to apologise to start with because I didn’t take phone pics of several parts of the tour - partly due to acrophobia, partly because I was shooting black and white film with a 1954 Kiev 2

This is some of what we’ll be seeing from another angle...
Portrait aspect photo looking vertically upwards into the Gothic vaulted ceiling of the Nave. It is extravagently studded with bosses and a tracery of stone ribs
February 7, 2026 at 8:40 PM
navalairhistory.com
Finally did the long awaited tower and roof tour at Winchester Cathedral today. I’ve only lived in the area for 15 years

With a small party, as part of an organised tour (the only way to see these areas) I explored the upper nooks and crannies… 🧵
Winchester Cathedral from the south, showing part of the Gothic nave to the left, the rather squat, square crossing tower, and the largely Norman Romanesque south transept
February 7, 2026 at 8:23 PM
navalairhistory.com
I have been channelling my inner @jayhulmepoet.bsky.social and done a roof/tower tour of Winchester Cathedral

Will do a thread in a bit
The space between the ceiling and the roof of Winchester Cathedral Nave. Wooden joists and roof trusses can be seen in the upper part of the picture receding along the nave, and below, the undulating upper surface of the stone vaulted ceiling
February 7, 2026 at 6:11 PM
navalairhistory.com
Post a ship that's not #StarTrek or #StarWars
The SHADO Interceptor from the live action Gerry Anderson series UFO. It’s a rather gawky dirty white single-seat spacecraft with a snub hull and spindly tripod undercarriage, and a large bulb-shaped device protruding from the nose - this is an enormous fire-and-forget nuke that the interceptor must fire roughly into the path of a UFO travelling at superluminal speeds. The Interceptor is in its hangar below the surface of the Moon
February 6, 2026 at 11:24 PM
navalairhistory.com
That bit in Arrested Development 'Well did it work for those people?' 'No, it never does, I mean these people somehow delude themselves into thinking it might, but... but it might work for us.'
February 5, 2026 at 4:28 PM
navalairhistory.com
Just received some cards from the brilliant @gingertotty.bsky.social and just look at this envelope! Going to have to frame it 😁
Envelope addressed to me with a delightful cartoon of planets, astronauts and a space rocket in pen and crayon drawn on it
February 5, 2026 at 11:33 AM
navalairhistory.com
Finished the #portrait of Donald Campbell and Bluebird CN7. #OilPainting on cotton duck-covered panel, 12in x 16in
What do you think?
Oil painting, half-length portrait of Donald Campbell wearing a blue jumper, left hand in his pocket, right hand resting on the nose of the speed record car Bluebird CN7, which fills most of the background
February 5, 2026 at 11:10 AM
navalairhistory.com
Hello. My name is… Mr Snriac
‘Mr Snrub’ from the Simpsons (Mr Burns wearing a big fake moustache)
February 5, 2026 at 10:56 AM
navalairhistory.com
Finally, another fan of the English Gothic
Winchester Cathedral, in the Choir, looking up to the fan-vaulted ceiling. The focal point is a row of Lancet (pointed arch) windows, above open pointed arches leading to a side aisle. Light from the opposite windows is falling on the wall
February 3, 2026 at 9:50 AM
navalairhistory.com
Latest artwork - OMS CF97 hillclimb and sprint car at Gurston Down Hill Climb
Digital artwork of a single-seat open wheel racing car in an orange and pale blue colour scheme rounding a right-hand bend past a grassy bank
February 2, 2026 at 10:14 PM