Savo Island And Withnail

The Importance Of The Battle Of Savo Island

John Severini & Stephen Biddle | War On The Rocks | 27th April 2026

Other than Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Savo Island in 1942 is the worst defeat in US naval history. The American fleet was superior in every way — more ships, with more advanced weapons and technology — but was rapidly outgunned by Japan because of failures in command and operation. It's a valuable lesson: "Acquiring a weapon or a sensor is not the same as knowing how to use it" (3,000 words)

Puzzle: Play Nomido, the Browser’s daily word game.

Withnail's Coat & I

Adam Scovell | On The Row | 24th April 2026

The full-skirted, increasingly battered tweed coat that Richard E. Grant's character wears in Withnail and I is "one of the most famous items of men’s clothing to grace British screens". It always looks fantastic, even when Withnail himself is at his lowest ebb, railing against the world through an alcoholic stupor. The coat had a strange afterlife: auctioned for charity, worn by a DJ, endlessly recreated (3,600 words)