A Chinese suicide bomber prepares.

The Battle of Taierzhuang, part of the Second Sino-Japanese War between China and Japan, ran from the 24th of March to the 7th of April, 1938. The first major Chinese victory of the conflict, it was won in part because of the lengths the Chinese soldiers were willing to go to for victory.

This image shows one of China’s suicide bombers putting on a vest made of hand grenades. Some soldiers threw themselves under Japanese tanks and blew themselves – and the vehicles – up.

The Japanese were humiliated by the defeat and denied it in media reports for days after the battle concluded. Chinese victory gave the morale of their people a big boost.

This war ran up until the conclusion of the Second World War, and is considered part of the Pacific Theatre of the worldwide conflict, ending with Japan’s surrender in 1945.

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On this day: the birth of the Duchess of Northumberland

Photographed as a teenager in 1935.

Elizabeth Diana Percy, Duchess of Northumberland (née Montagu Douglas Scott) was born on the 20th of January, 1922, to parents the future Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch.

During the Second World War she served in both the Civil Nursing Reserve and the Women’s Royal Naval Service, and worked on the RMS Mauretania and in Australia.

She married Hugh Percy, 10th Duke of Northumberland in 1946 and went on to have seven children. Her husband ascended to the title after his brother, the 9th Duke, was killed in action in the war in 1940.

The Duchess outlived her husband, dying in Surrey, England in 2012.

On this day…

King Prajadhipok signs the Constitution of Siam on the 10th of December, 1932.

Siam is now known as Thailand.

New South Wales 80 Years Ago

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This aerial photograph, dated the 26th of November, 1937, shows the industrial region of Port Kembla, in New South Wales, Australia. The Australian Iron and Steel factory (opened 1928) can be seen.

Today, Port Kembla is part of the coastal city of Wollongong.

On this day: Ireland legalises divorce

On the 24th of November, 1995, Ireland became the last country in Europe to legalise divorce. This occurred because of a referendum to change the constitution – not the first attempt to achieve this.

Opposition in the failed 1986 referendum. X

Divorce had been specifically forbidden in the 1937 Irish constitution. A heavily Catholic country, there was very strong opposition to the legal breakup of a marriage, just as there was when it came to the legalisation of contraception, which was only made available in the 1980s.

The success of the 1995 referendum was a close thing; the results were just over 50% in favour and 49.79% opposed.

On this day…

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This aerial photograph of the town of Bega in New South Wales, Australia was taken on the 17th of November, 1937.

Bega, 225 kilometres from the nation’s capital city, Canberra, and near the Pacific coast, is famous for its cheese.

On this day: a Wedding in Northern Ireland

Newlyweds, the Hamills, pose for a wedding portrait in Northern Ireland on the 17th of October, 1935. The couple also posed with their wedding party, and at the church with their guests. The bride also posed outside her wedding car.

The bride and groom were from the town of Dungannon, the third-largest in County Tyrone.