The Headscarf Revolutionaries: Lillian Bilocca and the Hull Triple-Trawler Disaster

Product Information

Led by the charismatic Lillian Bilocca – known as Big Lil – the women embarked on a campaign of protest and direct action that, as John Prescott acknowledges in the book’s foreword, ‘achieved more in weeks than unions and politicians ever did. His prose includes the books The Luckiest Thirteen (2017) and The Headscarf Revolutionaries (2015), the latter of which gave rise to the song cycle 12 Silk Handkerchiefs written by radical musician Reg Meuross with which Brian toured the UK, backed by Arts Council (England). Lilian Bilocca started with a petition, took her battle to the docks at dawn, and then led a raid on Parliament.

In addition to writing an inspiring history of the Headscarf Revolutionaries, Lavery has also written a social history of a world that has largely ceased to exist. Helen has appeared on Sky News, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4, BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio Manchester, BBC Radio Merseyside, BBC Radio Lancashire, BBC World Service, talkRadio, and GB News. The story of the Hessle Roaders who took their fight all the way to the corridors of power in Parliament deserves to be known throughout the UK. I have even known families years ago when the fishing was big, phoning the news desk and demanding a reporter was sent round. Combining rare archive and emotional testimony - including that of Yvonne Blenkinsop, the last surviving leader of the women - those who lived through the tragedy and fought for change tell their incredible stories for the first time.Their perseverance and passion changed the landscape of trawling forever, and cemented their status as working class heroes both in Hull and throughout the nation. Lillian Bilocca (née Marshall; 26 May 1929 – 3 August 1988) was a British fisheries worker and campaigner for improved safety in the fishing fleet as leader of the "headscarf revolutionaries" – a group of fishermen's family members. Once inside the snapper got his head and shoulders photo of the bereaved mother and left me to get on with the interview. Minutes before the Ross Cleveland disappeared from the radar, first mate Eddom, dressed in a full ‘rubber duck’ suit, had been chipping ice from the radar scanner.

In December 2013 he wrote and presented Courage and Effect for BBC Radio 4 on their Four Thought series, drawn from the subject matter of this book. But at her funeral, only a handful of those who had once cheered her powerful oratory were at the graveside. Virginia Bilocca-McKenzie, is the daughter of Lillian Bilocca’s, who kickstarted and was one of the key leaders of the movement.Analysing the events Lavery describes, one might reach two reasonable but contradictory conclusions. Indeed, while Prescott, who had some involvement with the campaign as a young trade unionist, may be keen to celebrate what the women achieved, their rebellion had more in common with Danbert from Chumbawamba dowsing Prescott with water at the Brit Awards than it did with facilitating the banking crisis or invading Iraq. A deputation led by Bilocca was finally allowed into the building, but officials made it clear that the owners of the St Romanus and Kingston Peridot were not prepared to meet with them. Lavery describes how the British public and media took Lil and the campaign into their hearts, but also how fickle that support was, and how quickly it was removed.

Blenkinsop told the Fisheries Minister, Fred Peart, that they were not going to leave until all of the demands had been enacted. The name “Headscarf Revolutionaries” arose because so many of the women still wore headscarves when out of the house. I learned how 58 men had died and how the sole survivor, Harry Eddom, fought for his life in the Arctic and came home a hero. On a calm January evening in 1968 in the North Sea, the Hull trawler “St Romanus” telephoned its status back to the shore.An experienced chairperson and speaker, she regularly chairs conferences and events for, among others, literature festivals, award ceremonies, and tech shows. Chair of the Hull Bullnose Heritage Group, Jerry Thompson said: “These brave women’s actions save countless lives by putting trawler safety on the national and international agenda.