Flashbacks! Trivia Quiz

Answer: World War I

The trenches of World War I were often muddy and waterlogged, and the soldiers could stand in them for hours. This led to a condition known as "Trench Foot" which was caused by cold, wet, dirty conditions. The skin would gradually numb then turn red or blue, and the condition often led to gangrene and amputation. In the early years of the war it was so bad that it was estimated around 20,000 men were treated for the condition in the winter of 1914/15.

By early 1915 soldiers were under orders to have a minimum of three pairs of socks with them in the trenches, and to clean and dry their feet at least twice a day. The army also supplied a grease made from whale oil to coat the feet. It was estimated that a battalion would go through around 10 gallons of this concoction every single day they were in the trenches.

Answer: Mary Queen of Scots

Mary Queen of Scots was the cousin of Queen Elizabeth I. She fled to England asking for sanctuary after an uprising against her and her husband, Lord Bothwell. She had previously laid claim to the throne of England, and many Catholics regarded her as the rightful Queen. Seeing her as a threat. Elizabeth had her arrested. She spent the next 19 years imprisoned, many of them in the care of the Earl of Shrewsbury and his wife, Bess of Hardwick.

In 1586 Mary was implicated in the Babington Plot to assassinate Elizabeth and take the throne. She was put on trial for treason and found guilty. For some little while Elizabeth hesitated over signing her death warrant, but eventually she did, and Mary was executed at Fotheringhay Castle on 7th February 1587. She was initially buried in Peterborough Cathedral, but in 1612 her son, James I of England and VI of Scotland, ordered that her body be exhumed and re-buried in Westminster Abbey. She now lies only some 30ft away from Queen Elizabeth I.

Answer: Nineteenth

The Napoleonic Wars lasted from 1803 to 1815 and were between the French Empire and various coalitions of other European nations. They ended with Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, and the subsequent Second Treaty of Paris.

Naval battles were a large part of these wars. Powder monkeys were the members of crew of a warship who carried the gunpowder from the magazine, usually in the hold, to the gun crews. Young boys were often selected for this job because they were fast, and also because, being young, they were quite short and could hide behind the ships gunwales. This meant that enemy sharpshooters could not target them on their trips to and fro.

Answer: King Henry VIII

Before the dissolution of the monasteries most of them were completely self sufficient. They had cows for milk, bee hives for honey, grew most or all of their own vegetables and baked their own bread. They also brewed their own ale.

King Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the monasteries after he fell out with the Catholic church because the Pope would not grant him a divorce from Catherine of Aragon to enable him to marry Anne Boleyn. Monks and nuns were evicted from their monasteries, priories and nunneries, and the land was sold to Henry's supporters. Their goods, their real estate and many church valuables were seized by the Crown and did much to swell Henry's treasury.

Answer: The Bastille

The Bastille was seen as the representation of royal authority in Paris. On 14 July 1789 revolutionaries stormed it, principally to obtain the arms and ammunition stored there. At the time only seven prisoners were held there. This action followed several days of protests and riots on the streets of Paris. Ninety eight attackers and one defender died during the course of the day. July 14 is now a national holiday in France.

This was one of the flash points of the French Revolution, and in the years that followed many French nobles fled the country.

A point of interest, the key to the Bastille is now at Mount Vernon in the USA. It was given to George Washington by Lafayette in 1790.

Answer: King Charles II

The Great Fire of London started in Pudding Lane, and due to the timber construction, closeness of buildings and the prevailing wind spread rapidly. Chains of firefighters with buckets took water from the Thames to try and fight the flames but to no avail. Thousands of people fled the city to the outlying country areas. It burnt for three days and completely gutted most of the old medieval city as well as destroying St Paul's Cathedral.

Some good did come out of it. It burnt out many plague spots, helping to end the epidemic that had swept the city the previous year, and it gave us the current, Wren-designed St Paul's Cathedral.

Answer: England

The first proper mention of cricket can be found in a 1598 court case. In a dispute over ownership of some common land testimony can be found from a man by the name of John Derrick, who states that he and his friends used to play "creckett" on the land when they were children. It is again referred to in 1611 when two Sussex men were prosecuted for playing cricket on a Sunday rather than going to church.

The game was introduced to North America by English colonists some time in the 17th century, and to the West Indies and India early in the 18th century. It arrived in Australia in the 1780s, and New Zealand soon after. The first international game was in 1844 between American and Canada, and the first Australian team to tour England was an aboriginal team in 1868. What is regarded as the first fully fledged test match between Australia and England took place in Australia in 1877.

Answer: Brighton

In 1786 the Prince of Wales rented a modest farmhouse in Brighton. He had been recommended to try seawater bathing as a remedy for his gout. He purchased the farmhouse and employed architect John Nash, who, between 1815 and 1822, turned the farmhouse into the Royal Pavilion that we see today. The outside is heavily Indian influenced in style, whilst the interior draws inspiration from both Chinese and Islamic influences. The whole concoction is as far removed from the normal English style of architecture as you can get.

The Pavilion remained a royal residence until the time of Queen Victoria. She disliked it intensely, and it was sold to Brighton Corporation in 1850. Many of the fittings were taken out and put in Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. In the late 1860s Victoria returned a large amount of unused fittings and later on King George V and Queen Mary returned more of them. Over the years Brighton has made great efforts to restore the building to the way it was at the time of George IV.

Answer: Wars of the Roses

The Wars of the Roses, so called because the symbol of each side was a rose, red for Lancaster and white for York, were a series of wars fought between the houses of Lancaster and York for the throne of England. Both sides were descended from King Edward III, so both felt they had legitimate claim to the throne. King Henry VI (Lancaster) was the first king in this era, he was defeated by Edward IV (York). Henry VI then regained the throne for a short time before it was taken by King Edward IV, then Edward V and then Richard III, all Yorkists.

The Battle of Bosworth Field was in 1485. Henry Tudor, a Lancastrian, landed in England in an attempt to seize the throne. As he marched through Wales he gathered an army of supporters, and he met Richard III in battle at Bosworth Field. Richard was killed in the battle and Henry Tudor became King Henry VII. He married Elizabeth of York, uniting the warring families, and founded the Tudor dynasty. Richard III was the last English king to be killed in battle.

Answer: Tower of London

At one time the Tower of London housed the Royal Menagerie. This was started by King John around 1204. It housed many animals never before seen in England. In 1235 the Holy Roman Emperor gave King Henry III three cheetahs, and the first polar bear in England arrived in 1251 from Norway. Apparently this had a collar and chain attached to it, and was allowed to fish in the River Thames for its meals. From the time of Elizabeth I the menagerie was open to the public, and was a massive tourist attraction as these animals could not be seen anywhere else in England.

The first elephant, a gift from Louis IX of France, arrived in 1255. It landed at Sandwich, and an enormous crowd turned out to see it arrive. In the middle of the 19th century the collection was moved to Regent's Park where it became the foundation for what is now London Zoo.