From Fireworks to British Smokestacks Quiz

Answer: Guy Fawkes

Guy Fawkes' name is linked with the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. The aim of the conspirators of the plot was to kill King James I and, in so doing, open the way to return a Catholic king to the throne. Fawkes was discovered in a cellar under the houses of parliament on the evening of November 4-5 guarding a large pile of wood.

The pile of wood was hiding 36 barrels of gunpowder that would be set off the next day when parliament re-opened.

Answer: Plane

The Spitfire was a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft that first flew in 1936 and enhanced its reputation during World War II, in particular, during the Battle of Britain. As a result there is a strong belief that this was the RAF's (Royal Air Force) main fighter during the Battle of Britain but the truth is that the Hawker Hurricane did the majority of the work.

The Spitfire was, arguably, the better plane as it was a close rival to the German Messerschmitt aircraft and had a better victory/loss ratio than the Hurricane.

Answer: Harold II

Harold Godwinson, best known as Harold II, became King of England in January of 1066. He would die in battle against the Norman invaders, led by William the Conqueror, only ten months later. His passing would mark the last of the Anglo-Saxon kings to rule over England.

His death by an arrow through the eye is one that is debated by scholars who hold up other written evidence that indicate that he may have been killed by four knights or some other, more gruesome, deaths.

Answer: Vikings

The Medieval period is generally deemed to have started around about the fifth century and lasted until the fifteenth century. The earliest recorded raids of the British Isles by the Vikings are from the 790s and flow through to the Norman conquest of England in 1066.

This is more commonly known as the Viking Age. These Vikings were, predominantly, from the areas that, today, are known as Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Answer: False

Henry VIII of England was king of his country from 1509 until his death in 1547. One of the things he's best remembered for is his six wives. His first marriage, to Catherine of Aragon, lasted for 24 years. His next five marriages (combined) lasted only ten years. One of the ways devised to best remember how these marriages went is the saying "divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived".

Answer: William

Shakespeare once wrote that "all that glisters (glitters) is not gold" and in his case it is generally acknowledged that his words were gold. Shakespeare, sometimes called the "Bard of Avon", is the world's best-selling author of fiction with over four billion of his works having been sold.

Born in 1564 he is the author of such fine works as "Hamlet", "Romeo and Juliet" and "The Merchant of Venice".

Answer: Pirate

Born Edward Teach around about 1680, it is believed he started his pirate days under the guidance of Captain Benjamin Hornigold. He got his name from his thick black beard and fearsome reputation. When he captured a large French merchant ship he stacked her with forty cannons, changed her name to Queen Anne's Revenge and terrorised an area of ocean around the West Indies and the east coast of the North American colonies.

Answer: Winston Churchill

Churchill served as Britain's Prime Minister for two terms. The first was during the years 1940 through to 1945 where he guided the country through the Battle of Britain and kept the country inspired with great speeches such as his, now famous, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat" speech.

He would serve as PM again from 1951 to 1955 and is recognised as one of the most influential Britons of all time.

Answer: The Spanish Armada

The Spanish Armada was a fleet of 130 ships that were escorting an army from Flanders with the purpose of overthrowing England, ruled by Queen Elizabeth I. The Spanish failed in their mission. They had made some strategic blunders but, in the main, their ships were severely damaged by a savage storm that had hit them off the coasts of Scotland and Ireland. Only about a third of their ships managed to limp home after the campaign.

Answer: Chimney Sweeping

This Act was triggered by two events. The release of a book by Charles Kingsley in 1863 called "The Water-Babies" which raised the public's awareness of the plight of children as chimney sweeps and the subsequent death of twelve year old George Brewster who died while cleaning the chimneys at Fulbourn Hospital.

This Act went further than previous attempts at this law by insisting that chimney sweeps be registered and it gave the police powers to act against those that weren't.