26th June 1986: Anti-divorce poster at the Father Mathew Hall in Ireland on polling day for the Divorce Referendum. The referendum failed, and divorce was not legalised until 1995.
Category Archives: Vintage
On this day…
English cricketer Arthur Fagg, who played both for Kent and England, was born on the 18th of June, 1915.
After retiring from the sport, he went on to become a well-known umpire. He died in September 1977.
On this day…
The railway station in Aintree, England (famed for its racecourse), photographed on the 12th of June, 1959.
Queen’s Birthday
Today is our holiday for the Queen’s “official” birthday (though not her actual birthday). The tradition of celebrating the British monarch’s birthday around summer began with King George II in 1748, largely to ensure fine weather for the occasion.
On this day: Italy declares war.
Italy’s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini stands on the balcony of the Palazzo Venezia in Rome to declare war on France and Great Britain on the 10th of June, 1940.
Meanwhile, in Turin in the north of the country, people gather in a piazza to listen to the declaration on the radio.
On this day…
Today is the 48th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Binh Ba. It was one of Australia’s most significant battles of the Vietnam War.
D-Day
This image – from the 6th of June, 1944 – shows British troops taking part in the iconic Normandy landings of the Second World War.
Some 156 000 troops from more than a dozen nations took part in the invasion, which was a turning point in the war.
