Heroes and Villains Multiple Choice Quiz | Mixed People

Answer: John McVicar

McVicar was born in 1940 and during the 1960s was named 'Public Enemy No 1' by Scotland Yard. Once apprehended he was given a 26 year prison sentence, but managed to escape several times. He was finally released from prison in 1978. Whilst in jail he began to reform himself and took several educational courses including a degree.

He wrote the book 'McVicar by Himself' and the script for the autobiographical film 'McVicar' which starred Roger Daltrey.

Answer: Ian Gow

Ian Gow was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Eastbourne when he was killed on 30th July 1990. Airey Neave was assassinated in 1979 by a car bomb when he was leaving the underground car park at the House of Commons. He was one of the few men to escape from Colditz Castle during World War II. Sir Anthony Berry died in 1984 as a result of the 'Brighton Bombing', which was an attempt to kill the cabinet of Margaret Thatcher. David Kelly was an expert on biological warfare and former UN weapons inspector. Shortly after giving evidence at an inquiry in 2003 into the invasion of Iraq he was found dead. An official investigation concluded that he committed suicide.

Answer: Hawaii

Marcos was involved in Filipino politics from 1949, gradually rising in power until he became president in 1965. His greatest achievements were in foreign diplomacy and in infrastructure development. There were several scandals during his term and he was accused of despotism, nepotism and human rights abuses. Marcos died on 28th September 1989 in Honolulu from kidney, heart and lung problems.

Answer: Libya

In an interview in 1989 Colonel Qaddafi is reported as saying that he agreed to the release of the hostages because it was the only way to get Terry Waite to leave. Throughout the 1980s Waite was involved in hostage negotiations in several Middle Eastern countries.

When he returned to Beirut in January 1987 he himself was kidnapped. He was kept in captivity for 1,763 days, finally being released on November 20th 1991.

Answer: Military Cross

The Military Cross is the third highest military award in the British army and is awarded for "an act or acts of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land to all members, of any rank ". Maxwell was born into poverty in a small village in pre-war Czechoslovakia.

He arrived in Britain in 1940 and it wasn't until 1945 that he changed his name from Jan Ludvík Hoch. His villainous side comes from the time when, as the owner of a large media group that included the UK newspaper the "Daily Mirror", he fraudulently used his employees' pension funds to prop up other parts of his ailing empire.

He died in mysterious circumstances in November 1991 whilst aboard his luxury yacht 'Lady Ghislaine' which was cruising around the Canary Islands.

Answer: Gatwick

The Pope arrived shortly before eight o'clock on the morning of May 28th. As was his custom, his first act after descending the aircraft steps was to kiss the ground. During his tour of the country he made the first visit by a Pontiff to Canterbury Cathedral.

Whilst there he took part in a service alongside Dr Robert Runcie, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, and both men knelt in silent prayer at the place where Thomas Beckett was murdered. The visit was seen as a significant gesture of reconciliation between Rome and the Church of England.

Answer: Carpenter

Ronnie Biggs was born in August 1929. In 1947 he joined the RAF, but was discharged two years later for desertion. In the years that followed he turned into a petty criminal, and it was during his time in prison that he learnt his carpentry skills. He actually went into business with the husband of a friend of his wife. To keep the business afloat he tried to borrow £500 from a friend so he didn't have to resort to crime. It was this friend that got Biggs involved in what would turn out to be the biggest robbery in the history of the UK up to that time. Despite 'folk law', Biggs played a very minor part in the robbery itself. In fact, his 'job' was to get someone who could drive the train after it was stopped.
Following his arrest, he escaped from prison in 1965 and spent the next 36 years either on the run, or latterly living in exile in Brazil. He returned to the UK, of his own volition, in 2001. He was immediately arrested and returned to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. In December 2007 Biggs made an appeal to the the government to be released on compassionate grounds so he could die surrounded by his family.
The amount of money stolen in 1963 was £2.6 million, which, adjusting for inflation, was, in 2006, the equivalent to about £35 million.

Answer: Agnes

Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje in 1910. Gonxha is Albanian for 'rosebud'. After the death of her father when she was eight years old her mother raised her as a Roman Catholic. She became fascinated with the work of missionaries, and at 18 years old joined the Sisters of Loreto.

She never saw her family again. Her early years in the sisterhood were spent in Ireland learning English, the language used to teach children in India. She went to India in 1929 and began her training as a novice in Darjeeling.

She took her first vows in 1931, and adopted the name Teresa after Terese de Lisieux, the patron saint of missionaries. She took her final vows in 1937. She left this world in September 1997, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in October 2003.

Answer: Committed suicide

Shipman stood trial in October 1999 on 16 counts of murder. He was found guilty on 15, plus one count of fraudulently altering a will. He was convicted and sentenced in January 2000. The trial judge sentenced him to 15 consecutive life sentences, which was confirmed by the then Home Secretary, David Blunkett, in 2002. It wasn't until this time that Shipman was struck off the medical register by the General Medical Council.
Shipman was found hanging in his prison cell the day before his 58th birthday on January 13th 2004.

Answer: Matt Busby

Sir Alexander Matthew Busby was born on May 26th 1909. He began his playing career in 1929 at Manchester City and he stayed there until 1936 when he transferred to Liverpool. The outbreak of World War II saw the end of Busby's career as a player and he volunteered for National Service, joining the 'King's Liverpool Regiment'. He did make several appearances for clubs during the war years, but very few.
At the end of the war Busby, then 36 years old, decided to turn to coaching and management. He initially wanted to remain at Liverpool but could not agree terms with the club. At the beginning of October 1946 he took charge at Manchester United, the club he was to stay with for the rest of his life, finally ending up as president in 1982. In February 1958 he survived the Munich 'plane crash which took the lives of seven players and three club officials. He was awarded the CBE in 1958 and was knighted ten years later following Manchester United's winning of the European Cup.
He passed away in January 1994 from cancer.