This Saturday (3rd Oct) the Mary Quaile Club will be holding an event the Annexe at the Working Class Movement Library.
The free event will feature Brian Lavery who will talk about his book The Headscarf Revolutionaries: Lillian Bilocca and the Hull Triple-Trawler Disaster (Barbican Press, 2015).
Brian’s book takes readers back to the winter of 1968 when three trawlers from Hull’s fleet sank in rapid succession. One fishwife, Lillian Bilocca, put down her filleting knife, sickened that men died because the authorities failed to bring in the shipping laws that could have saved them. In a few weeks that startled the world, she roused her community and shook the government who introduced long overdue health and safety measures.
Years pass. Brian lives among the community, and years of patience, research and enquiries have unlocked people’s full stories for the first time. ‘Brian Lavery made me feel as if I was back in the fight in 1968,’ says Lily’s fellow campaigner Mary Denness. ‘It was almost like he had been with us.’
Continuing the theme of health and safety at work, we are also delighted to welcome Hilda Palmer from the Greater Manchester Hazards Centre who will talk about the work of the centre and some current campaigns. The centre is an independent organisation which gives information and advice on any health, safety and welfare problems at work and hazards arising from workplaces.
The Working Class Movement Library is located at 51 Crescent, Salford, M5 4WX. The event is free. There will be light refreshments served after the talks.
For more information about the event, please email: maryquaileclub@gmail.com
