Can You Name These British Heroes From Their Statues?

By: Zoe Samuel
Estimated Completion Time
5 min
Can You Name These British Heroes From Their Statues?
Image: DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) / Moment / Getty Images

About This Quiz

Every day, people do great acts of heroism, from risking their lives to helping others to giving up their dreams to serve others. Some of these people achieve recognition, while many do not. The result is that statues are generally raised only to the most public of heroes. This translates in a particularly large number of statues of military heroes, who were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to defend their homelands. However, other types of heroes are not always left out. Great writers and artists who challenge us to think differently and see our true nature are often celebrated, as are scientists who gave their lives to uncovering the secrets of the universe.

As a nation that is very keen on its history, the United Kingdom is traditionally enthusiastic about putting up statues to its heroes. There is scarcely a village in the country that does not have a memorial to World War Two, typically naming its local heroes. There are also plenty of monuments celebrating heroes from all walks of life. Some are individualized and some hail groups who made waves collectively. There are even statues of heroic animals.

Can you match the hero to their stone or bronze likeness? It's time to find out!

William Tyndale
Wiki Commons by Acabashi
Who is this hero who translated the Bible into English, and was killed for it?
Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Wolsey
William Tynedale
Anne Boleyn
Agatha Christie
Wiki Commons by Loz Pycock
What is the mystery of this famous writer?
Malorie Blackman
Hilary Mantel
A.S. Byatt
Agatha Christie
Mary Seacole
Wiki Commons by Sumit Surai
Do you know the name of this British-Jamaican hero whose "British Hotel" saved thousands in the Crimean War?
Helena Rosa Wright
Flora Murray
Elsie Inglis
Mary Seacole

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The families of the Kindertransport
Wiki Commons by OTFW
Who are these brave young souls who escaped Nazi Germany and thus helped to keep their people alive?
The children of the New Forest
The survivors of the Armada
The Dunkirk evacuees
The families of the Kindertransport
William Shakespeare
Wiki Commons by NeutrophilGranulocyte
Who is this eggheaded fellow whose plays you've definitely seen?
Christopher Marlowe
Alexander Pope
John Milton
William Shakespeare
William Wallace
Gannet77 / E+ / Getty Images
Can you name this Scottish military hero who set the stage for his nation's liberation?
William Wallace
Robert the Bruce
Rabbie Burns
Alexander Graham Bell

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George Eliot
Wiki Commons by kevin roe
What is the name of this brilliant writer, who used a man's name to get published?
Emily Bronte
Mary Shelley
George Eliot
J. K. Rowling
Queen Victoria
ChrisHepburn / E+ / Getty Images
The second-longest reigning British monarch, who is this severe-looking lady?
Queen Elizabeth I
Queen Mary
Queen Anne
Queen Victoria
The Few (Battle of Britain memorial)
Wiki Commons by Colin Smith
Who are these men, of whom Churchill said that the entire nation owed them a debt?
The Few (Battle of Britain memorial)
The Ones
Those Guys
The Winners

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Alice Nutter
Youtube via Steven Reed
Can you name this woman, who was murdered as a witch some four hundred years ago?
Alice Grey
Anne Redferne
Alice Nutter
Jennet Preston
Noor Inayat Khan
Wiki Commons by Pete Stean
Who is this heroic spy of the Special Operations Executive?
Yvonne Fontaine
Noor Inayat Khan
Muriel Byck
Odette Sansom
The Gurkhas
Wiki Commons by Phantomsteve
Who are these Nepalese heroes who fought bravely in World War Two?
The Soldiers of Nepal
The Mountain Men
The High-Altitude Heroes
The Gurkhas

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Margaret MacDonald
Wiki Commons by Bengt Oberger
For which industrial reformer was this monument erected?
Mary Carpenter
Margaret MacDonald
Alice Stone Blackwell
Sarah Emily Davies
Joan Littlewood
Wiki Commons by Matthisvalerie
Who is this theatrical director known as "The Mother of Modern Theatre"?
Joan Littlewood
Vanessa Redgrave
Maggie Smith
Helen Mirren
Boudica
THEPALMER / E+ / Getty Images
By what name is this heroic Welsh Queen known?
Elizabeth Andrews
Bridget Bevan
Lucy Thomas
Boudica

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Sarah Siddons
Wiki Commons by Stephencdickson
Who is this performer, the first to receive a statue in London?
Sarah Bernhardt
Ann Marshall
Sarah Siddons
Margaret Hughes
Robert Peel
Alberto Manuel Urosa Toledano / Moment Open / Getty Images
This two-time Prime Minister is the founder of the British police. What is his name?
Benjamin Disraeli
Robert Peel
Hugh Trenchard
Lord Palmerston
Florence Nightingale
Wiki Commons by Lonpicman
This hero transformed nursing during the Crimean War. Who is she?
Elizabeth Blackwell
Florence Nightingale
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Sophia Jex-Blake

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Emmeline Pankhurst
Wiki Commons by Lupo
Who is this inspiring suffragette leader?
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emily Davison
Alice Paul
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Field Marshal William Slim
Wiki Commons by Robert Scarth
The war in Burma is often unsung, but this guy led the British forces in it. Do you know him by his likeness?
General Archibald Wavell
Admiral Douglas MacArthur
Field Marshal William Slim
Admiral Chester Nimitz
Ada Salter
Youtube via Julia Mariasova
Who is this pioneering trade unionist and early environmentalist?
Edith Cavel
Ada Salter
Catherine Booth
Gracie Fields

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Henry Irving
Wiki Commons by Eluveitie
What is the name of this man, the first actor to be knighted for services to the stage?
John Gielgud
Ned Alleyn
Laurence Olivier
Henry Irving
Virginia Woolf
Wiki Commons by Stu's Images
For which notably great but depressed writer was this statue raised?
Jane Austen
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Mary Shelley
Virginia Woolf
Millicent Fawcett
Wiki Commons by Jwslubbock
This mighty suffragette transformed British society by winning votes for women. What is her name?
Millicent Fawcett
Emmeline Pankhurst
Christabel Pankhurst
Dora Thewlis

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All the animals who fought in wars
Wiki Commons by Eluveitie
This delightful memorial honors those who fought but were never asked. Who are they?
All Britain's spies
All the animals who fought in wars
All Britain's sappers
All British soldiers killed in action
Elizabeth Fry
Wiki Commons by Studies Weekly
This social reformer changed the way crime and punishment were addressed in the UK. Who is she?
Emmeline Pankhurst
Sylvia Pankhurst
Elizabeth Fry
Emily Davison
Winston Churchill
Wiki Commons by Bidgee
Who is this greatest of all Prime Ministers?
Charles de Gaulle
Winston Churchill
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Dwight Eisenhower

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Horatio Nelson
Wiki Commons by Beata May
For which great admiral is this glorious column?
Horatio Nelson
Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher
Napoleon
Jozsef Alvinczi
Guy Fawkes
Wiki Commons by Patrick Mackie
Weirdly, there is a statue of this traitor, who was involved in the Gunpowder Plot. Who is he?
Robert Catesby
Thomas Percy
Guy Fawkes
Francis Tresham
Oliver Cromwell
Wiki Commons by Rept0n1x
This incredibly controversial Lord Protector took over after Charles II was deposed. What is his name?
Oliver Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell
John Milton
John Donne

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Sir Isaac Newton
Wiki Commons by Andrew Gray
For whom is this statue, that honors the discoverer of the Theory of Gravity?
Albert Einstein
Sir Isaac Newton
Stephen Hawking
Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Wiki Commons by Carlo Marochetti
This man built much of Industrial Age Britain. Who is he?
Robert Trevithick
George Stephenson
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
James Watt
Charles Darwin
Wiki Commons by Eluveitie
Who is this scientist, who discovered the Theory of Evolution?
Charles Darwin
Rosalind Franklin
Francis Crick
James Watson

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Duke of Wellington
Wiki Commons by Kim Traynor
This great military hero beat Napoleon. Can you tell us his name?
Duke of Rutland
Duke of Wellington
Duke of Westminster
Duke of York
Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris
Wiki Commons by Greenshed
We saw some of this gentleman's colleagues honored by a previous statue, but he also has his own statue. What is his name?
Field Marshal Haig
General Montgomery
Alan Turing
Sir Arthur "Bomber” Harris
Violette Szabo
Wiki Commons by camerawalker
Do you recognize this heroic spy, who not only fought the Nazis but also held up under torture so as not to give away any comrades?
Violette Szabo
Noor Inayat Khan
Hugh Dalton
Anders Lassen

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Cilla Black
Wiki Commons by Rodhullandemu
Who is this marvelous performer and native daughter of Liverpool?
Cilla Black
John Lennon
Paul McCartney
Ringo Starr
William Wilberforce
Wiki Commons by Steve F-E-Cameron
Can you identify the statue of this heroic abolitionist leader?
Olaudah Equiano
Earl of Mansfield
Dido Belle Lindsay
William Wilberforce
The men and women of the Great Western Railway
Wiki Commons by Rept0n1x
Who are these fine souls, who enabled people to reach Bristol in a fraction of the time?
The men and women of the ship Britannia
The men and women of Paddington Station
The men and women of the Great Western Railway
The men and women who built the sewers of London

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