Nostalgia Quiz: Trailblazing Manchester women who left a lasting legacy

Photo: Emmeline Pankhurst, centre, with fellow suffragettes, July 1915 © Mirrorpix

To mark International Women’s Day on Tuesday, our quiz this week focuses on Manchester women of achievement down the years.

They range from suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst to acclaimed actress Dame Wendy Hiller and comedienne and composer Victoria Wood.

Also featured are trailblazing MP Ellen Wilkinson, playwright Shelagh Delaney, broadcaster Joan Bakewell and cross-channel swimmer Sunny Lowry.

How well do you know the inspirational women of Manchester? Why not test your knowledge and compare your score with family and friends?

iNostalgia have put together a special offer on four of their books to commemorate International Women’s Day (and Month) this March. Buy any two – and get £10 off!

The titles are Women in Wartime 1939-45, the Home Front 1939-45, Rock the Cradle and First in the Fight – the sumptuously illustrated story of 20 women who helped make Manchester.

Just visit the website here or ring the order hotline 01928 503777 for more details.

Good luck with the quiz. Answers are at the bottom of the page.

1. Emmeline Pankhurst campaigned to win the vote for women for the whole of her life.

In what year did the Conservative government extend the vote to all women over 21 in the Representation of the People Act?

A) 1918

B) 1928

C) 1938

2. Longsight swimmer Sunny Lowry swam the English Channel from Cap Gris Nez to St Margaret’s Bay on August 28, 1933. How long did it take her?

A) 13 hours 41 minutes

B) 14 hours 41 minutes

C) 15 hours 41 minutes

3. Labour MP Ellen Wilkinson, pictured, served as Minister of Education in Clement Attlee’s government from 1945 to 1947.

What was her famous nickname, reflecting her tenacious energy?

A) The Fiery Particle

B) The Mighty Atom

C) The Manchester Whirlwind

4. Stockport-born broadcaster Joan Bakewell, pictured, presented which BBC debate programme for 12 years?

A) Question Time

B) Heart of the Matter

C) Moral Maze

5. Bramhall actress Dame Wendy Hiller won the 1959 Oscar for best supporting actress playing alongside Burt Lancaster in which film?

A) Ice Cold in Alex

B) A Night to Remember

C) Separate Tables

6. Prestwich comedienne and writer Victoria Wood, pictured, had a guest spot on which popular consumer show of the 1970s?

A) Watchdog

B) Ask Aspel

C) That’s Life

7. What was the title of Shelagh Delaney’s first play, later made into a film starring Rita Tushingham?

A) The Tender Trap

B) A Taste of Honey

C) Charlie Bubbles

8. Which Oldham actress took her stage name from a box of matches when Noel Coward told her to change it?

A) Freda May

B) Dora Bryan

C) Tilly Vesta

9. Wigan-born opera singer Margery Booth became a spy in World War II and actually sang before Hitler moments after a British officer had hidden secret documents in her dress.

Which wartime propagandist did her information help to convict?

A) Lord Haw Haw (William Joyce)

B) Tokyo Rose

C) Frederik Kaltenbach

10. In which year did Emmeline Pankhurst start the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) which became the foundation for the suffragette movement?

A) 1903

B) 1908

C) 1913

Answers:

1 (B); 2 (C); 3 (A); 4 (B); 5 (C); 6 (C); 7 (B); 8 (B); 9 (A); 10 (A)

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*iNostalgia’s latest book Manchester Then and Now – is on sale now. It’s an unmissable compilation of the past and present images that feature in the M.E.N. every Sunday.

The book is available for £12.99 on the website here or on the order hotline 01928 503777.

Material taken from Wednesday's edition of the M.E.N. Discover more fascinating photos and nostalgic features of Manchester, see the M.E.N. on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday or visit M.E.N. Nostalgia.

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