STILL OCCUPIED

Peter Marshall

A view of Hull

Docks


32t44: The Bullnose, St Andrew's Dock entrance, 1982 - Docks

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Still Occupied

Images on this site are arranged into rough areas by location as in my book 'Still Occupied', available on Blurb. Eventually this site will contain all the images in that book and more.


This was the western end of those two pipes which can be seen on the opposite side of the dock entrance. In my picture they appear to descent from the heavens, but in reality they came from the first floor of the building to my left, out of site as I took the picture, then identified as 'Industrial & Maritime Riggers Limited' but formerly the former Boston Deep Sea Fisheries Ltd office and the Sea Fish Industry Authority.
 
The Bullnose was named for its shape, jutting out in to the river at the mouth of the St Andrew's Dock entrance channel, and apparently men who had not found a place on a crew would wait there in the hope of jumping down into a trawler that was leaving shorthanded if the skipper gave them a signal they were wanted.
 
When I took the picture the only fishermen were those with rod and line, but it is now the site of one of several memorials to the trawlermen of Hull who sailed from here never to return. Fishing was one of Britain's most dangerous occupations, with no safety laws once on board, casually hired crews and skippers with absolute authority. Effective trade union organisation only came to Hull after the 1968 loss with all hands of the St Romanus and the Kingston Peridot - 40 men. The TGWU set up a meeting but it was the women of Hull, led by 'Big Lil' Bilocca, who took effective action. The men knew that if they spoke out they would be blacklisted by the trawler skippers and owners.
 
Women had traditionally been kept away from the fish dock, their presence thought to bring bad luck, but Big Lil led a group of women to the dock, resolved to prevent any trawler leaving without a radio operator on board to call for help if necessary. There was a huge fight as Big Lil tried to board the St Keverne when she heard there was no radio operator on board, watched and reported by the press - and though the women failed to stop the boat, the owners sent out a radio operator to the ship as it went down the Humber.
 
The women's action persuaded the men they should take action too, and a crew refused to sail because of the poor condition of their life-jackets. The loss of another trawler, the Ross Cleveland, a few days later - with only one survivor from a crew of 19 - brought matters to a head, with the women going down to see the Labour government in London with the demands of a fisherman's charter. New safety rules were introduced as a result - saving the lives of many not just in Hull but around the country.

 

Peter Marshall
01784 456474

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