UK Numbers with Letters Trivia Quiz

Answer: Battle of Hastings

On the 14th October 1066 Harold, King of England was killed and his army defeated by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy) which left England open to Norman rule. The battle site, Senlac, is six miles inland from Hastings E. Sussex and is marked by Battle Abbey.

Answer: Two Fat Ladies

Two Fat Ladies is the traditional English call for the number 88 in Bingo.

Answer: Spanish Armada

The Spanish Armada was a fleet of 130 ships sent by Philip II of Spain against England in 1588. After running battles in the English Channel, with 197 ships under Howard of Effingham and Francis Drake, the Armada anchored off Calais where the English set fire to some of their ships and sailed them among the Spanish ships, thus rendering many useless.

The decisive battle was fought off Gravelines with England victorious. Less than half the original fleet returned to Spain.

Answer: Duke of York's Men

The Grand old Duke of York he had 10,000 men
He marched them up to the top of the hill and marched them down again
When they were up they were up, and when they were down, they were down
But when they were only half-way up, they were neither up nor down.

The nursery rhyme relates to Frederick Augustus, Duke of York 1763-1827, son of George III. The Duke of York's column in Waterloo Place, London also commemorates him.

Answer: Great Fire of London

The Great Fire of London started in a baker's shop in Pudding Lane, a site now marked by the Monument, and raged between 2-6 September 1666 destroying most of the City of London.

Answer: UK International Dialling Code

+44 is the International Dialling Code to call the United Kingdom.

Answer: Queen's Silver Jubilee

Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Silver Jubilee (25 years on the throne) in 1977, her Golden Jubilee (50 years) in 2002. Englishwoman Virginia Wade won the Wimbledon Ladies' singles in 1977.

Answer: James Bond

Ian Lancaster Fleming (1908-1964) created James Bond - a British institution.

Answer: Teams in the English Premier League

The English Premier League in football was established in 1992/93. Prior to this there were 4 Divisions (1st-4th). Now there is the Premier League plus 1st - 3rd Divisions.

Answer: Downing Street

Downing Street, leading from Whitehall to St James's Park, is named after Sir George Downing (d.1648) a diplomat under Oliver Cromwell and Charles II.

Answer: Opening of the Great Exhibition

The first building of its size (408 x 1,850ft) to be made of glass and iron, Crystal Palace was built in Hyde Park, London for the Great Exhibition of 1851 by Joseph Paxton. It was later dismantled and erected on Sydenham Hill SE London and destroyed by fire in 1936.

Answer: Falklands War

The Falklands War of April-June 1982 came about when Argentina invaded the Falklands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Despite UN intervention Argentina refused to withdraw. The British surrounded the Argentine troops at the capital, Port Stanley and forced a surrender on 14 June. Sovereignty of the islands remain disputed.

Answer: Fiddlers in Old King Coel

Coel, c.350-c.420, was king of Northern Britain.

Old King Coel was a merry old soul, a merry old soul was he
He called for his pipe and he called his bowl
And he called for his fiddlers three.

Answer: Titanic sinking

'RMS Titanic' the 'unsinkable' British passenger ship, was sailing from Southampton to New York when she struck an iceberg (14-15 April 1912) off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, N. Atlantic. 1,513 lives were lost.

Answer: Balls to an over in cricket

The origins of cricket are unknown but it dates back to the 16th century. Rules were drawn up in 1774 and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) was formed in 1787 when the rules were modified.

Answer: Coronation Year

Although she succeeded to the throne in 1952 on the death of her father, George VI, she was crowned Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on June 2nd 1953.

Answer: Year of the Gunpowder Plot

Led by Robert Catesby with Guy Fawkes and several others,the Gunpowder Plot was a Catholic conspiracy to blow up James I and his parliament in the Palace of Westminster on November 5th 1605.

Remember, remember the fifth of November,gunpowder, treason and plot
I see no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.

Answer: Signing of the Magna Carta

With the king's demands for excessive taxes and attacks on the priviledges of the church, Archbishop Langton colluded with the barons to draw up a document to guarantee human rights against the undue royal powers. King John was forced to sign at Runnymede (Surrey) in 1215.

Answer: Motorway Speed Limit

The UK national motorway speed limit is 70mph unless towing caravans, trailers etc.
Dual Carriageway speed limits are 70mph or 60mph when towing.
Single Carriageways are 60mph overall.
Built-up (residential) areas are 30/40mph.

Answer: Battle of Trafalgar

Trafalgar was an 1805 battle off Cape Trafalgar (on the Spanish coast near the western entrance to the Straits of Gibraltar), part of the Napoleonic Wars. The British fleet under Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated a Franco-Spanish fleet. Nelson was fatally wounded in this battle.