Timeline Quiz

The Grandma in When I See Grandma is inspired by my mother, Jean Margaret Coombs nee Wilson. The illustrations in the book show Grandma re-living her past in her dreams. I'll tell you a bit about Jean's past so you can compare it to what life is like for you and your parents today. I hope you find it fun and interesting!

Here are a few questions to start. Click on the answers. More questions will be coming soon...

Jean was born in 1930 in London, England. Times were difficult then due to:
a. The Potato Famine
b. The first world War
c. the Great Depression

Her father was a train driver. He drove the train that holds the record for the fastest steam train ever. It was called the 'Mallard' and was built in 1938. This photo is of him (in the front) showing people the train when it was in a museum. The Mallard train ran on:
a. steam
b. electricity
c. Diesel

It went 202 km p/h (125.88 miles per hour). The fastest trains today go up to 430 km p/h. Watch a video about the Mallard here.

Prince Phillip is in the photo too. Prince Phillip was/is:
a. Queen Victoria's son
b. Our Queen Elizabeth's husband
c. Our Queen Elizabeth's brother

When Jean was about 9 years old she left her parents and baby brother in London. She was sent with her sister, Sheila, from the city to the countryside to keep her safe. It was 1939 and the British Government organised for all school children in London to be 'evacuated' in the same way. What where the children being protected from?
a. the Plague (a deadly illness)
b. the second world war
c. the first world war

What was this mass evacuation known as?:
a. D Day
b. operation Pied Piper
c. Desert Storm

Thankfully Jean's family (parents, brother and sister) all survived the war. Jean returned home and as she grew the thing she enjoyed most was:
a. Acting on stage
b. playing tennis
c. watching TV

In the 1950's Jean decided to move to live in Australia.  London was still being rebuilt after the war, and Jean wanted a fresh start. How did Jean travel from England to Australia?
a. Car
b. Ship
c. Plane 

Today you can fly from Perth (where Jean arrived in Australia) to London in under 19 hours. How long did it take Jean to travel?
a. 24 hours
b. one week
c. six weeks

How did Jean communicate with her family back home in England?
a. phone
b. email
c. letter

Jean soon moved from Perth to Darwin to train to be a nurse. Here's an extract from her diary about her first day at work in Darwin hospital:

This file is from the collections of The National Archives (United Kingdom), catalogued under document record INF3/86. Sources from Wikimedia commons

Jean met her husband-to-be, Tom Coombs, in Darwin. When they went out together they went:
a. to the movies and to MacDonald s 
b. swimming and karaoke
c. to the movies, dancing and swimming

Tom was in the RAAF. This stands for:
a. Royal Animal Action Force
b. Royal Australian Air Force
c. Real Australian Air Force

Later, Tom was posted to the RAAF base at Lapstone in the Blue Mountains. Tom and Jean bought a small house in Penrith opposite a big park. Apart from spending a year in Malaysia (where I was born), this is where they raised their 3 girls (I'm the youngest).

When in Malaysia in 1964, Jean helped out at the children's school by
a. covering books
b. working in the canteen
c. driving the school bus

In 1970 Tom was sent overseas to fight in a war, leaving his girls safe at home in Penrith. This was:
a. the cold war
b. the gulf war
c. the Vietnam war

Jean became very involved in the local
a. church
b. scout club
c. netball team

Jean loved to
a. sing in the church choir
b. lead scouting expeditions
c. shoot goals

So How did you go? Were there some things that you didn't know about? Perhaps you could look them up and find out more.