By Final ‘Headscarf Revolutionary’ who campaigned for trawler safety dies
The last of the Headscarf Revolutionaries, who campaigned for trawler safety measures in the 1960s, has sadly died.
Yvonne Blenkinsop, from Hull, fought with Lillian Bilocca, Christine Jensen and Mary Denness for tougher laws that changed the fishing industry for good.
They took action after a triple trawler tragedy in 1968 which saw the loss of three Hull trawlers and 58 crew.
Their campaign started when 58 fishermen lost their lives in three separate trawler sinkings in the space of weeks in 1968, causing outrage and overwhelming grief throughout the fishing community.
St Romanus, Kingston Peridot and Ross Cleveland all sank in quick succession, and only one man survived.
The four women collected a 10,000-signature petition, known as the Fishermen’s Charte, calling for reform that saw improved safety measures onboard vessels.
The group led protest meetings and lobbied politicians as they felt companies had been cutting corners to save money.
The then prime minister Harold Wilson invited the delegation to London to meet with the minister of state for the Board of Trade.
Among the measures the campaign won were safety checks before vessels left port, radio operators for all ships, improved safety equipment and a “mother ship” with medical facilities for all fleets.
Ms Blenkinsop became only the third woman in 130 years to be awarded the freedom of the city of Hull in 2018.
Ms Blenkinsop died on Sunday aged 83, her family confirmed while Mrs Bilocca died in 1988, Mrs Jensen MBE in 2001 and Mrs Denness in 2017.
Many have shared tributes to the pioneering woman, who fought so hard to improve conditions for thousands of fishermen.
