1900-1999 UK History Trivia

1. Queen Victoria died in 1901, in January. Which of her children died in August of the same year?

From Quiz Back to the Twentieth Century

Answer: Victoria

Queen Victoria died on the Isle of Wight while her daughter, and eldest child, died in Germany. Princess Victoria was Empress of Germany and mother of Wilhelm II, who was leader of Germany (Kaiser) during World War I. Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, had nine children in all. Three of them died before their mother - Alice in 1878, Alfred in 1900 and Leopold in 1884.

From Quiz Green Eggs and Spam

Answer: 1954

Britain was an island nation that imported much of its food, so rationing was needed to ensure equitable distribution of what was available and to prevent hoarding/profiteering. Following a National Registration Day in September 1939, members of every household were issued with identity cards and ration books and had to register with a particular shop from which rationed goods could be bought. Bacon, butter and sugar were the first foods to be rationed, but other items were added as the war progressed. With much of Europe in ruins and a wrecked British economy, food shortages in some ways became worse after the end of the war. The situation improved throughout the early 1950s, but it wasn't until July 1954 that people could throw their ration books away.

From Quiz The Battle of Cable Street and Beyond

Answer: British Union of Fascists

The British Union of Fascists was founded by Mosley in 1932. By the late 1930s it had become the British Union of Fascist and National Socialists, and was often simply referred to as the British Union or as the BUF. In 1940 the party, and membership of it, were made illegal in Britain, with several prominent members being interned for their Nazi sympathies during World War II.

From Quiz Britain from 1900 to 1909

Answer: Japan

The 15,150 ton Mikasa was built at Barrow-in-Furness for the Imperial Japanese Navy. The ship was similar to the battleships that were currently being built for the British Navy. The Mikasa was the flagship of Admiral Togo at the Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese war. She is now a memorial in Yokosuka, Japan. It was believed that the building of the ship would cement the ties between Britain and Japan and further co-operation between the two countries in the Far East.

From Quiz Britain in the 1960s

Answer: Seamen

In May 1966 a national strike was called by The National Union of Seamen. One of the main Union Officials at that time was John Prescott who backed the strike 100%. The strike ended on June 29th but not after Harold Wilson's government had proclaimed a state of emergency which allowed price capping on food and enabled the Royal Navy to clear the ports of shipping.

From Quiz British History - 20th century

Answer: launderette

The launderette opened in that year for a 6-month trial.

From Quiz Britain from 1945 to 1955

Answer: 2

Around midnight of April 28-29 Hitler married Eva Braun. On April 30 he said farewell to Goebbels. He then shot or poisoned himself. Mussolini had died a few days before. Though he had lost power for several months already, he had refused to flee from the country. The Allies had reached Naples in October 1843. They reached Rome in June 1944, Florence in August. The northern cities were reached in April 1945. Finally Mussolini tried to join a convoy of retiring Germans and escape to Switzerland. Near Dongo he was stopped, shot and then hanged. Together with his mistress Claretta Petacci. His body was brought back for public display in Milan.

From Quiz Britain, 1950-1960

Answer: Clement Attlee

List of postwar Prime Ministers (till October 1964): July 1945 - Clement Attlee; November, 1951 - Sir Winston Churchill; April 1955, Sir Anthony Eden; January, 1957 - Harold Macmillan; October 1963 - Sir Alec Douglas-Home.

From Quiz Back to the Twentieth Century

Answer: Hawley Crippen

Crippen was American born but had been living in London since 1897 with his wife, Cora. Cora performed on the stage and was known to have affairs. In the meantime, Crippen met Ethel le Neve with whom he began an affair. In 1910, Cora disappeared with Crippen claiming she had returned to America. Following police interest, Crippen panicked and he and Ethel left, by ship, for Canada. The captain recognised them and sent a telegram to Britain, enabling the British police to take a faster ship and intercept Crippen's vessel before he could disembark. Following a trial in the UK, Crippen was found guilty of murder and hanged in 1910.

From Quiz Green Eggs and Spam

Answer: Expectant and nursing mothers

Women with green ration books were entitled to additional milk, the first choice of fruit and double the normal egg allowance. By brandishing her book the holder could also move to the front of the ubiquitous queues. Children under the age of five were also included in the scheme and could receive additional fruit. Older children had blue ration books which entitled them to half a pint of milk a day. The rest of the population had buff coloured ration books.

From Quiz 1960s Britain

Answer: Tristan da Cunha

Tristan da Cunha is one of the remotest populated areas of the world. It is situated in the South Atlantic, with the nearest mainland being South Africa, over 1,700 miles away. It is a British territory, so when Queen Mary's Peak erupted in 1961, the entire population of the island was evacuated to England, via Cape Town. This was not quite as dramatic as it sounds, as there were fewer than 300 evacuees. Most of the people returned to the island in 1963, although a few hardy souls decided that they would prefer to stay in Hampshire.

From Quiz Britain from 1900 to 1909

Answer: 'Unfair competition' from Japan

After years of buying their warships from other countries Japan began to heavily subsidise their shipbuilding industry to such an extent that Japan began building ships for other countries. Bearing in mind that only two or three years earlier the Japanese fleet beat the Russians with warships that were mainly buit in Britain it is no wonder that the British shipbuilders had cause for concern.

From Quiz A Man For All Seasons

Answer: Pius XI

Exactly 400 years after his death, Saint Thomas More (1478-15350 was canonised by Pope Pius XI. June 22nd is Saint More's feast day, a day shared with Saint John Fisher, an English bishop.

From Quiz The UK According to Whitaker: 1900

Answer: the Second Boer War

The war between Britain (which governed Cape Colony and Natal) and the Boer republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State lasted until 1902. From late 1900 it became a protracted war of attrition, during which public support for it in Britain fell off sharply.

From Quiz Britain in the 1960s

Answer: Kuwait

On June 19th 1961 Kuwait became a sovereign Emirate thus ceasing to be a British protectorate. However, a few days later Abdul Karim Kassen, President of Iraq, announced that Iraq was going to annex Kuwait. On the 27th June, Kuwait requested British assistance and troops were sent into the country. On October 19th the Arab League took over the protection of Kuwait and the last of the British troops left the area.

From Quiz Britain in the 1950s

Answer: A stone

The Stone of Scone, also known as the Coronation Stone, was stolen by four Scottish Students and taken to Scotland. In 1951 the stone was found and returned to Westminster Abbey. However it was returned to Scotland in 1996, where it is kept at Edinburgh Castle, only returning to London when required for a Coronation.

From Quiz British History - 20th century

Answer: Both boats sank.

This race took place in London on the 28th of March and is run every year.

From Quiz Britain, 1950-1960

Answer: British diplomats that had spied for the USSR

Burgess was born at Devonport, Devon 1911; he died on August 30, 1963, Moscow. Maclean was born in London, 1913. He died in Moscow, on March 11, 1983. Both had been members of Foreign Office. They 'disappeared' in 1951 and re-surfaced in Moscow in 1956.

From Quiz Back to the Twentieth Century

Answer: Empire Stadium

The question refers to the original stadium on the site, which was demolished between 2002 and 2003 and replaced by a new stadium, opened in 2007. Its official name was the British Empire Exhibition Stadium, as it was built as part of an exhibition staged in 1924/5, but soon became known as Wembley Stadium. It was primarily known for staging football (soccer) matches, but other sports were catered for including speedway, rugby league and the 1948 Olympics. The replacement stadium is on the same site, and most people in the UK just call it Wembley - it's assumed that anyone who says they're going to Wembley is referring to a sporting event.

From Quiz Green Eggs and Spam

Answer: One egg per person per week

Fresh eggs became a luxury in wartime. Some people kept chickens and others, living in the countryside, obtained them unofficially from farmers, but for most people the official allocation was very low and availability fluctuated. Powdered eggs, available from 1942, were favoured by the government because they were easily stored and would not go off before being used. One tin of dried egg powder was equivalent to a dozen eggs. The dried egg was imported from the USA as part of the Lend-Lease programme, as were 12 ounce tins of spam.

From Quiz 1960s Britain

Answer: Murder

In August 1961, a man named Michael Gregsten was shot and killed, while his lover, Valerie Storie was raped, then shot, sustaining injuries which left her paralysed. The murder caught the public's attention more than most as another possible culprit was also implicated. Hanratty was found guilty, and was hanged in April 1962, making him among the last men to suffer the death penalty in the UK. Although there were many doubts about his guilt, DNA evidence examined in 2002 appeared to prove that he was guilty.

From Quiz The Battle of Cable Street and Beyond

Answer: The Communist Party of Great Britain

The Communist Party of Great Britain denounced the Fascist march and issued leaflets to advertise their planned rally in Trafalgar Square. One man, named Joe Jacobs, is said to have actually been expelled from the Party after getting into a public brawl with a member of the Blackshirts.

From Quiz Britain from 1900 to 1909

Answer: The Aliens Act

The Alien Act of 1905 was introduced in Parliament in an attempt to decrease the flow of immigrants, mainly Jewish, from entering the country from Russia and Central Europe. The Government began to get worried after the results of the 1901 Census showed that over 250,000 immigrants had settled in the London area. After a number of amendments in Parliament the Act was passed, albeit watered down from the original proposal. The Act was designed to prevent people unable to support theselves financially, and those "who were declared to be lunatics " from entering the country. Ships travelling to eight east coast ports were met by launches with Government and Medical Inspectors on board in order to carry out certain tests on the hapless travellers. However, the Act had been amended to allow people to seek political asylum and people who were suffering from religious persecution to settle in Britain.

From Quiz A Man For All Seasons

Answer: Jane Colt

Jane gave More four children and was an excellent mother. She died in 1511, just six years after their marriage. Later that same year Thomas married to Alice Middleton, a widow. They lived together happily until his imprisonment.

From Quiz The UK According to Whitaker: 1900

Answer: Lord Salisbury

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, was the leader of the Conservative Party which had won an absolute majority of seats in the Commons in the general election of 1895 and also had the support of Liberal Unionists (i.e. opponents of Home Rule in Ireland). In October 1900, when the Liberal opposition was deeply divided over the Boer War, Salisbury called a general election and secured a further five years in power for his party, though he resigned the premiership in 1902.

From Quiz Britain in the 1960s

Answer: Professionals were allowed to compete

Up until 1968 Wimbledon was a purely amateur event, although in 1967 an invitation match was held where past Wimbledon Champions that had turned professional were allowed to compete. Late in 1967 it was resolved that Wimbledon would be open to all professionals, and the following year the first Open Championships were held, the winners being Rod Laver and Billie Jean King.

From Quiz Britain in the 1950s

Answer: 5

Labour won the 1950 General Election by just 5 seats. They remained in power until October 1951 when the Conservatives won.

From Quiz British History - 20th century

Answer: "The Dandy"

"The Dandy" was published in Scotland. "The Beano" wasn't long in following, hitting the shelves in 1938.

From Quiz Britain from 1945 to 1955

Answer: not all the votes had been counted yet in the British elections and it was not clear who was going to be the next Prime- Minister

The General Election of July 1945 had started on 5th July but because of special war circumstances, did not finish till 26th July. There was that delay because the armed forces votes had to be counted, too. In spite of his impressive leadership during the war, Churchill lost the elections and Labour came to power with a majority of no fewer than .... 146 seats.

From Quiz Back to the Twentieth Century

Answer: Supermarine

It's surprising to know that the plane destined to play such a major role in the Battle of Britain in 1940 was rejected by Air Ministry on submission of the first design in 1931, with the Gloster Gladiator being chosen instead. After the designer R J Mitchell had made several alterations, the aircraft was approved in late 1934. Supermarine was founded in 1913, near Southampton, and produced seaplanes. The Spitfire became iconic, although the Hawker Hurricane was equally important in the air battles which put an end to Hitler's plans to invade Britain.

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