Yvonne Blenkinsop

Yvonne Marie Blenkinsop (née Neilsen; 19 May 1938 – 24 April 2022) was a British woman known for her campaign to improve safety in the offshore fishing industry following the 1968 Hull triple trawler tragedy. In 2018, she became only the third woman in 130 years to be awarded the freedom of the city of Hull.

Early life Yvonne Marie Neilsen was born in Kingston upon Hull, England on 19 May 1938, and was the oldest of six children. Her father died when she was 16, having had a heart attack whilst at sea on board the fishing trawler Loch Melfort. Blenkinsop subsequently assumed responsibility for looking after the family, her mother being debilitated by a nervous condition caused by the Second World War. Blenkinsop found work as a cabaret singer. Shocked by the loss, that same night, Blenkinsop – who was then 30 years old – wrote down 27 safety measures that she thought would reduce the level of risk in the industry. Together with a group of local women – Lillian Bilocca, Mary Denness, and Christine Jensen – Blenkinsop founded the Hessle Road Women's Committee to co-ordinate a campaign to improve safety on the trawlers. Blenkinsop spoke on stage at the meeting and just hours later was punched in the face by a man who was angry that she was "interfering in men's business".

The women's committee became known as the "headscarf revolutionaries" for their direct-action tactics, which included storming the offices of ship owners and preventing ships from leaving the harbour. They demanded that all trawlers have a radio operator on board when they go to sea; that ships be fully crewed; that improved training and safety equipment be provided; that better weather forecasts be sourced; and that a dedicated medical vessel should accompany the fleet at sea. Blenkinsop attended a meeting with Fred Peart, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and J. P. W. Mallalieu, a minister at the Board of Trade, to discuss the matter. In May 2015, Blenkinsop, Denness, Bilocca and Jensen were honoured with plaques at the Hull Maritime Museum. Also in 2015, Blenkinsop attended the launch of Brian Lavery's book The Headscarf Revolutionaries, a history of the 1968 safety campaign. Blenkinsop was consulted by Maxine Peake during her research into the story for a 2017 play she wrote about the campaign. In December 2018, Blenkinsop became only the third woman in more than 130 years to be granted the honorary freedom of the city of Hull.

Blenskinsop died from a pulmonary embolism at a care home in Hessle, on 24 April 2022, aged 83.