🚀 go-pugleaf

         THE GREAT CANADIAN TRIVIA CONTEST
  
From: Steve_Caldwell@colby.on.infoshare.ca
Subject: Great Canadian Trivia Contest
 
QUESTION FOR 6 APRIL, 1998.
 
The History Department of Colonel By Secondary School in Ottawa,
Ontario is sponsoring a Canadian Studies Internet trivia contest.  
 
This contest is designed to appeal to students in Grades 6 - 10
although other grades are more than welcome to participate.

INFORMATION:
 
Each week a new question  will be presented.  Students participating in
the contest will, in all likelihood, have to do some research to find
the correct answer to our weekly question.
 
Questions are based on some aspect of Canadian Studies. Questions will
include the subjects of history, geography, culture, natural science,
sports, current events, law and any other aspect of Canadian studies
that we can think of.
 
A new question will be posted by noon, eastern time, every Monday and
answers must be received by 8:00 a.m. eastern time the following
Saturday week. Answers will be tabulated, and the correct answer, along
with the winners' names, will be posted in two weeks. Thus, there will
be a new question each week while the answer and winners will be posted
two weeks later.
 
We plan on offering a few nominal prizes so make sure you let us know
where we can reach you. We plan on offering three prizes this year, one
for the top scoring individual or small group, one for the top scoring
class, and one for the top scoring out of country participant. Because
of this it is vital for participants to identify which of the three you
are entering as. If the participants are representing a particular
class please identify the teacher, grade(s) and school. 

Last year we had participants from across Canada and the United States,
as well as Sweden while in previous years we have had participants from
as far away as China.
We welcome all new participants as well as our returning veteran
contestants.    
 
Don't forget your e-mail address, as well as your school's name and the
grade and/or class that you are in, as well as your postal address.
     

MARCH 16th's  QUESTION:

King George V is reported to have introduced this 17 year old
Newfoundlander as "... the youngest VC in my army." 

What is the name of this 17 year old who was the youngest person to win
the British Empire's highest award for valour, the Victoria Cross,
during World War I?

ANSWER: Thomas Ricketts

In 1916, 15 year old Thomas Ricketts of Middle Arm, White Bay,
Newfoundland, lied about his age and joined the Newfoundland Regiment,
later renamed the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. On October 14, 1918, at
the age of 17, Thomas Ricketts won the Victoria Cross at Ledgehem,
Belgium. The "London Gazette" described Rickett's actions in the
following terms on January 6, 1919.

"The (Newfoundlanders) attack was temporarily held up by heavy hostile
fire and the platoon, to which he belonged, suffered severe casualties
from the fire of a German gun battery at point-blank range.

"Private Ricketts at once volunteered to go forward with his section
commander and a Lewis machine gun to attempt to outflank the  German
battery. Advancing by short rushes under heavy fire from enemy machine
guns with the hostile battery, their ammunition was exhausted when
still 300 yards from the battery.  The enemy, seeing an opportunity to
get their field guns away, began to bring up their gun teams. Private
Ricketts, at once realising the situation, doubled back 100 yards under
the heaviest mchine-gun fire, procured further ammunition, and dashed
back again to the Lewis gun, and by very accurate fire drove the enemy
and the gun teams into a farm.

"His platoon then advanced without casualties, and captured the four
field guns, four machine guns and eight prisoners.

"A fifth gun was subsequently intercepted by fire and captured."

WINNERS:

1. Ian Raska, Colonel By Secondary School: Gloucester, Ontario

2. Peter and Cindy Bailey, Madison, Connecticut

3. Thomas Howard, Malmo School: Edmonton, Alberta

4 Patrick Howard, Malmo School: Edmonton, Alberta

LAST WEEK'S QUESTION:

Last Monday Canadian, James Cameron, won the Oscar for Best Director in
this year's Academy Awards ceremonies. In the early days of the Academy
Awards Canadian actresses won three of the first four awards for Best
Actress. Name these three Canadian Hollywood stars.

DUE DATE: 11 April, 1998. 

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:

This week we'll come back to Titanic mania with an easy question. The
Titanic sunk off the coast of Newfoundland on April 12, 1912. Some
drowned victims of the Titanic were reclaimed from the Atlantic. 120 of
these bodies were unclaimed and buried in a Canadian community. What is
the name of the Canadian community that is the burial place of these
victims, including one J. Dawson?

DUE DATE: 18 April, 1998.

SEND IN YOUR ANSWERS:
 
Remember, don't post your answers to this list.  Otherwise everyone
will see what you're sending in. Instead, send your answers to Steve
Caldwell at the following e-mail address:

Steve_Caldwell@colby.on.infoshare.ca