In My Life: Part 1 Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1937

When I was born the world was still in the grip of the Great Depression (although that grip was weakening in the UK -at least in the agricultural areas and southern England). Some parts of the world were at war: Spain was in the throes of a civil war, and Japan was having its second go at subduing China. Meanwhile, Europe was becoming increasingly uneasy about the ambitions of the Nazi regime in Germany.

Answer: September 1, 1939

On August 31, 1939 Nazi operatives disguised as Polish soldiers attacked the radio station in Gleiwitz. Gleiwitz is in Silesia, on the German/Polish border, an area that has changed hands between Germany and Poland several times over the centuries. The attack" on the radio station was the excuse Hitler needed to launch the invasion of Poland on September 1, thus plunging the world into a war that lasted for almost six years. Great Britain declared war against Germany on September 3, and Canada did so on September 10.

Answer: August 9, 1940

When people think of the blitz nowadays, they assume it affected only London. While London had the most bombs dropped on it by the Luftwaffe than any other city in the UK, it did not sustain blitz attacks for as long as other cities. The first bombs were dropped on Birmingham on August 9, 1940, and the raids continued until April 23, 1943.

The blitz lasted longer in Brum than in any other UK target. The first Luftwaffe bombs didn't hit London until September 7, 1940, and the London blitz ended May 10, 1941. June 14, 1940 was the day on which the German army entered and occupied Paris, and December 7, 1941 was what FDR called 'the Day that will live in infamy' - the bombing of Pearl Harbour by Japan.

Answer: May 8, 1945

May 8, 1945 was Victory in Europe Day, when the Allied Forces accepted Germany's unconditional surrender of its forces throughout Europe (with the exception of those occupying the Channel Islands - they surrendered on May 9.) Millions celebrated the end of the war in Europe. Crowds gathered in the streets of Moscow, Los Angles, London, Paris, and everywhere else in the free world.

The absolute end of the Second World War came when the Imperial Forces of Japan announced their surrender on August 15, 1945, and formally surrendered aboard the USS Missouri on September 2.

Answer: February 6, 1952

I remember that sad day as if it was yesterday. My form (class, in North America) had been at the school playing fields for field hockey that morning. The playing fields were some distance from our school so we were ferried back and forth by bus. On the way back to school, we saw the placards outside newsagents shops, reading, "The King is dead. Long live the Queen." When we got back to school and told others, nobody believed us, until the whole school was called into the Great Hall and our Headmistress made the announcement and cancelled classes for the rest of the day. On the way home, everyone I saw in the streets was in tears. King George was greatly loved by his people and while we knew that he had been too ill to undertake the state visit to South Africa so that Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip had gone in his stead, we did not know that his illness was terminal.

Answer: 1912

Guy Weadick was a trick roper who performed in "Wild West" shows. He wanted to put on a show that gave a more realistic depiction of the cowboy's life. Four of the wealthy cattlemen in the Calgary area agreed to put up $25,000.00 each to finance the first Calgary Stampede in 1912.

The show was a great success, but the Big Four declined to finance a second go round, so Weadick took his idea to Winnipeg, where a Stampede was put on in 1913, and failed hugely (Winnipeg's roots were in the fur trade, not in cowboy lore).

In 1919, with the support of E.L.Richardson, the General Manager of the Calgary Industrial Exhibition, the Great Victory Stampede was put on to celebrate Canadian soldiers returning from the Great War. It was not until 1923, however, that the enterprise became an annual event, staged by the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede.

In 1982, Guy Weadick was inducted into the Stampede Hall of Fame. Trivia note: In 1960, my 18-year-old sister was one of the candidates for Stampede Queen, but she had to drop out of the competition because she broke her leg in a riding accident.

Answer: 1961

1961 wasn't only a banner year for the world, it stands out as one of the best years of my life. That's the year I came to Winnipeg to spend the summer as one of the two apprentices at the Manitoba Theatre Centre (now the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre).

The other apprentice was the young man I married. We met in June, married at the end of August, and despite all the naysayers who made pointed remarks about "marrying in haste, repenting at leisure", we had almost 46 years together, until Larry's death in 2007.

In theatre terms, we had a very good run.

Answer: August 9, 1962

My son was born on August 8, 1962, and Peter, Paul, and Mary became household names ten days later, when their cover of the timeless song written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays hit music stores and radio stations across North America. It was first released in 1949 by The Weavers, a folk quartet made up of Seeger, Hays, Ronnie Gilbert and Fred Hellerman. Since its debut, "If I Had a Hammer" has been covered by such diverse singers and groups as Martha and the Vandellas, the Seekers, Sam Cooke, Johnny Cash, Trini Lopez, Johnny Rivers, and Leonard Nimoy! There's even a French version ('Si j'avais un marteau', by Claude Francois), and an Italian version ('Datemi un Martello', by Rita Pavone).

The Peter, Paul and Mary version is on their eponymously-titled debut album, which was released in May, 1962, and 'If I Had a Hammer' was released as a single on August 9, with 'Gone the Rainbow' on the B side.

Answer: August 22, 1485

In hindsight I should have named my younger son Richard. He was born on the feast day of St. Richard of Chichester (he's the saint who wrote the prayer that became a hit song 'Day by Day' in the musical, 'Godspell'). and he was married on the anniversary of the day that Richard III was killed at Bosworth.

As a Ricardian, I put no credence in Shakespeare's depiction of Richard as a vile plotter, traitor, and murderer (Shakespeare was, after all, writing during the Tudor regime, and the Tudors were ever defensive about their right to the throne). From everything that actual history tells us about Richard III he was the complete opposite of the Shakespearean villain.

The records of the city of York, where Richard had served his brother Edward IV as governor include this tribute to Richard, delivered by the Mayor of York's Sergeant of the Mace on the day after the Battle, when news reached York, "King Richard, late mercifully reigning over us, was through great treason....piteously slain and murdered, to the great heaviness of this city."

Answer: April 18, 1923

The inaugural ball game at the brand-new Yankee Stadium on April 18, 1923 featured the New York Yankees (the team for which Babe Ruth played) versus the Boston Red Sox, (Ruth's former team), with 74,000 people in the stands. The final score was 4-1 for the Yankees, largely due to a three-run homer batted in by the Babe.