Hull's lost trawlermen remembered in ceremony

Tuesday's ceremony was the first in a series remembering losses of trawler crews from Hull

The first in a series of services to remember Hull trawlermen who lost their lives at sea has been held.

Tuesday's service on Hessle Road marked the deaths of the crew of the St Romanus trawler in 1968.

It was the first of three ships which sank in January and February of that year, claiming a total of 58 lives.

Ray Hawker, a former trawler skipper, said: "It's fitting we keep these people in our memories or a part of Hull's heritage will be lost."

It is estimated more than 6,000 trawlermen from Hull alone perished between 1835 and 1980

The Rev Tony Cotson blessed boards, bearing the names of lost trawlermen, at the corner of Boulevard and Hessle Road.

The four Bethel boards, named after a seamen's religious organisation, list some of the 6,000 Hull trawlermen who died at sea.

The 1968 triple trawler tragedy, in which only one man survived, led to a successful campaign for improved safety standards by a group of women dubbed the Headscarf Revolutionaries.

Ernie Bilocca, the son of Lilian Bilocca who was one of the figureheads of the female-led campaign, was at Tuesday's service.

Mr Hawker, 74, who got his first skipper's role in 1973, said: "We remember all lost fisherman but we especially remember those that were lost in our living memory, as we have family members who attend the service."

A floral tribute to St Romanus

Services to remember lost crews

The St Romanus sank in the North Sea on 11 January 1968 with the loss of its 20-man crew

The crew of Kingston Peridot, also lost in 1968, will be remembered on Wednesday 26 January, along with those of the Lorella and Roderigo which sank 67 years ago on that date

The crew of the Ross Cleveland, the final trawler lost in the 1968 disaster, will be commemorated on Saturday 5 February

On Tuesday 8 February, the crew of the Gaul, lost 48 years ago, will be remembered