Hull tower blocks named in honour of trawler campaigner women

Lillian Bilocca (centre) and other women campaigned for improved safety after the loss of three Hull trawlers in 1968

Three tower blocks in Hull have been renamed in honour of women who fought for new safety laws after a slew of fishing tragedies in the 1960s.

Dubbed the Headscarf Revolutionaries, Yvonne Blenkinsop, Lillian Bilocca, Christine Jensen and Mary Denness 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.

Name plaques on the Porter Street flats were unveiled on Friday.

Information about the women has been displayed on the the newly renamed buildings

The women's campaign started when 58 fishermen lost their lives in three separate trawler sinkings in the space of less than a month in 1968.

The trawlers - 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 calling for reform, led protest meetings and lobbied politicians.

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 fleet.

The new plaques align the three buildings with the neighbouring Lil Bilocca House, also on Porter Street, which had already been renamed.

Alison Taylor said she was "very proud" to see a building named after her mother Mary Denness

Family members of the women were in attendance for the unveiling.

Ms Denness's eldest daughter Alison Taylor told BBC Radio Humberside she was "very proud" to see her recognised on the building.

"It's the stomping ground for the docks, it's a working-class area - it's everything Mary would have wanted," she said.

Ms Taylor, who was six when her mother and the other women marched on Parliament to fight for change in the 1960s, said: "The message is out there now that working-class women can be strong, they can fight, and if you believe in what you do you can do it from the heart, it's not always from the pocket."

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Councillor Daren Hale, for St Andrews and Docklands, said there had been overwhelming support from residents in the flats to honour the "courageous women," who he described as "Hull legends".

"These four women fought hard for tougher laws and changed the fishing industry for good, and it's only right their memory lives on and they are given the recognition they rightly deserve," he added.

He said plaques often tended to honour "rich white men" so it was "really good" that the city recognised the "major sacrifice" of its working-class women.

Fifty-eight men lost their lives in the 1968 trawler tragedies

Jerry Thompson, chair of Hull Bullnose Heritage Group, said: "These brave women's actions save countless lives by putting trawler safety on the national and international agenda.

"We are pleased that they get their just recognition."