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Community courage / Hessle Road, Hull
The Headscarf Revolutionaries
Remembering all four women whose 1968 campaign helped secure better safety for Hull’s fishermen.
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Our illustrated heritage collection.Read the story alongside the artwork.
Researched 10 October 2026 · A growing community archive
01
Remembering all four
Lillian Bilocca, known as Big Lil; Yvonne Blenkinsop; Mary Denness; and Christine Smallbone, later known as Christine Jensen. The four leaders were supported by a wider community of fishing families who wanted safer conditions at sea.
02
From tragedy to a campaign for change
Between January and February 1968, St Romanus, Kingston Peridot and Ross Cleveland were lost. Fifty-eight men died. The losses struck deeply at the Hessle Road fishing community.
03
A community’s voice
The women gathered support, challenged trawler owners and took their demands to government. Their campaign attracted national attention and helped secure reforms to protect fishermen.
04
A legacy to pass on
The headscarf became an enduring symbol of the campaign. This tribute honours all four women by name through symbolic headscarves, a petition and maritime imagery.
Your part of the story
What do you remember?
Send a photograph, family memory, name or correction. Include the place, approximate date, the people you recognise and permission to publish.Email Info@hessleroad.com ↗Contribution guidance →Research sources & illustration notes
The four headscarves represent the shared campaign; their colours and patterns are artistic choices, not attributed to individual women. The petition, radio and trawler are symbolic illustrations, rather than an original document, named vessel or photographed event.
Hull History Centre: Remembering Lillian Bilocca. Records the tragedy, campaign and all four women, including Christine Smallbone's later Jensen name. ↗
Hull Maritime: Hull backs the Headscarf Statue, 11 September 2024. Names all four women and describes the campaign's safety reforms. This is cited for historical context, not as a statement of the statue project's present status. ↗
MyLearning: The Women of Hessle Road: Hull. Museum learning resource on the disaster and campaign for better safety at sea. ↗
UK Parliament: Commons debate of 8 March 2018 records the Hessle Road women's committee and its four campaign leaders, using Christine Jensen's later name. ↗
Follow another thread
There’s more to discover.
Famous Names of Hessle Road ↗Ten Fascinating Facts ↗View all 18 illustrated stories →
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