Here are the answers to Peter’s latest quiz…
Q1a: “Green Grow The Rushes Oh” was widely sung by American troops in which war?
Answer: 1846 War with Mexico
Q1b: What nickname did the Spanish/Mexican population give these troops?
Answer: “Gringos”
Q2a: What TV series usually ends with a rendition of ‘Over The Hills & Far Away’?
Answer: Sharpe
Q2b: In which century was it first regularly sung by British troops?
Answer: 18th – it was a folk tune in the 17th (at least), but ‘army lyrics’ were 1706.
Q3a: Many regiments in the 19th Century had a band. Apart from signalling & boosting morale, what other key function did they often perform in combat?
Answer: Helping with the wounded.
Q3b: How did the Romans employ musicians in actual combat with Carthage?
Answer: Used to help scare the Carthaginian elephants.
Q4a: For a full orchestral staging, what unusual instruments do you need for a performance of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture?
Answer: Cannon!
Q4b: What was the WW2 ‘Red Orchestra’?
Answer: German intelligence name for a loose network of Soviet spy rings across Germany & Europe.
Q5a: The song ‘Lili Marlene’ was already very popular among German troops before WW2. Where did the British army first start to take it up?
Answer: North Africa.
Q5b: “We’ll Meet Again” by Vera Lynn is sung during the closing credits of which famous Cold War film?
Answer: Dr Strangelove.
Q6a: Why did Beethoven’s 5th Symphony have such massed appeal in Britain during WW2?
Answer: The opening 4 beats formed the morse letter V (for Victory).
Q6b: Which award-winning Sci-Fi film used five notes as its main theme/signature?
Answer: Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Q7a: A special version of ‘Men of Harlech’ is sung in a famous scene from which film?
Answer: Zulu.
Q7b: What is the full title of the British army unit primarily depicted in the film?
Answer: 24th Regt of Foot (2nd Warwickshires). Note – they only became South Wales Borderers in 1881.
Q8a: Hollywood notwithstanding, the song ‘Garryowen’ was most famously adopted by which unit?
Answer: U.S. 7th cavalry
Q8b: ‘The British Grenadiers’ was introduced to the UK by William III, but actually first adopted by which British army unit in 1716?
Answer: Royal Artillery.
Q9a: Hail The Conquering Hero’ was played in the film ‘Waterloo’ on what occasion?
Answer: Duchess of Richmond’s ball in Brussels (entry of the Duke of Wellington)
Q9b: For which victorious British Commander was it originally devised/dedicated?
Answer: Duke of Cumberland, post-Culloden
Q10a: General Grant famously said he could only remember two tunes. Which was his favourite?
Answer: Dixie (he couldn’t remember the name of the other one!)
Q10b: ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ has been the national anthem of the USA since 1931. Which war was it written to commemorate?
Answer: The War of 1812
Q11a: Music has often been used to intimidate the enemy. Which track was played by the 1st / 9th (Air Cavalry) in their Hollywood debut?
Answer: ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ by Wagner; during the air-assault in the film ‘Apocalypse Now’
Q11b: Where was ‘rock music’ actually first used officially as a psyops weapon?
Answer: 1989 assault on Panama (attack on General Noriega’s palace)
Q12a: Which BBC series was one of the first ever to use all-electronic theme music?
Answer: Dr Who
Q12b: Why was ‘Deep in the Heart of Texas’ banned by the BBC in 1942?
Answer: Because it was thought that the clapping chorus caused too much production loss by factory workers!