Hundreds of runners and walkers will take to the Humber Bridge on Sunday, 9 March, for the second annual Headscarf Hustle, an event held in tribute to Hull’s Headscarf Revolutionaries. The four-mile route, starting at 10:00 GMT from Humber Bridge Country Park in Hessle, will raise money for a statue honouring the women who fought to reform safety at sea after the Triple Trawler Disaster of 1968.
Participants will be given a headscarf on entry, a nod to the campaigners whose determination changed the fishing industry forever. The event is organised by local charity and athletics club Fitmums & Friends alongside Curly’s Athletes, with proceeds supporting both the charity and the campaign for a permanent memorial.
Sam Barlow BEM, founder of Fitmums & Friends, told the BBC, “We’re excited to see local people coming together to be active and to walk or run a mile in honour of each of the four Headscarf Revolutionaries.”
The Fight for Safer Seas
The Headscarf Revolutionaries were four women from Hull who led a campaign for better safety conditions in the fishing industry following the Triple Trawler Disaster, in which 58 men lost their lives. The St. Romanus, Kingston Peridot, and Ross Cleveland all sank within weeks of each other, leaving only one survivor, Harry Eddom.
Lillian Bilocca, Christine Jensen (formerly Smallbone), Mary Denness, and Yvonne Blenkinsop took action, gathering 10,000 signatures in ten days and travelling to Westminster to demand change. Their campaign resulted in sweeping safety reforms, including mandatory radio operators on all trawlers, full crew complements, improved training, and better emergency procedures.
Their success came at a cost. Bilocca, the most outspoken of the group, was blacklisted from Hull’s fishing industry and ostracised by many in her own community. Today, however, their legacy is widely celebrated as a turning point in the history of maritime safety.
This year’s Headscarf Hustle aims to honour that legacy, offering residents a chance to retrace the steps of the women who refused to stay silent.