HEDON AND DISTRICT LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY

In the 'Dark Winter' of 1968, fifty-eight Hull trawlermen lost their lives when three ships - the St Romanus , Kingston Peridot and Ross Cleveland - sank in as many weeks. The sole survivor of the disaster, Harry Eddom, watched two shipmates die in a liferaft before being washed ashore and spending two days fighting for his life in Arctic wastes of northern Iceland. The Triple Trawler Disaster wiped Vietnam from the world's front pages and sparked an uprising that took on the Establishment and won. No longer would the fishwives stand by and watch the industry that provided their livelihood kill their men. Despite death threats, violence, blacklisting and media abuse, the women of Hessle Road, led by Mrs Lillian 'Big Lil' Bilocca, fought for their men and changed the most dangerous industry on earth – but all at great personal cost. A Glaswegian by birth, journalist, academic and writer Brian W. Lavery has lived in Hull for over thirty years. His

Following the AGM at 7.30pm, the meeting will focus on the society's late founder and president John Markham . As an author and publisher, John's books, articles and photographs informed and entertained his readers and listeners for over half a century. Work on his extensive literary archive has recently uncovered two early articles published by The Dalesman - 'Counting Heads in Hedon' (1965) and 'Our Lives in Hedon' (1978) - and these (plus a number of previously unseen photographs) will be the highlight of the evening. All welcome! Join at any meeting . £10 p.a.   Church Rooms , Magdalen Gate, Hedon HU12 8JP, 7.30 p.m. More information : contact hedon.history @gmail.com   COMING NEXT: 2016 8 November : Dr Brian Lavery , 'The Headscarf Revolutionaries: Lillian Bilocca & the Hull Triple-Trawler Tragedy 13 December : Annual Xmas dinner , Kingston Theatre Hotel, Hull 2017 10 January : Kath & Clive Richardson , 'L

Well-known East Riding artist, lecturer and author Robin Horspool makes a welcome return to Hedon on Tuesday 13 September, opening the society's 2016/17 programme with a new talk, 'The Hearth and Home - with the Misses Bronte. Robin's talk will be dedicated to the memory of the society's late founder and president John Markham. COMING NEXT: 2016 11 October : AGM / Members' evening 8 November : Dr Brian Lavery , 'The Headscarf Revolutionaries: Lillian Bilocca & the Hull Triple-Trawler Tragedy 13 December : Annual Xmas dinner 2017 10 January : Kath and Clive Richardson , 'Lest We Forget' All welcome! Join at any meeting. £10 p.a.   Church Rooms , Magdalen Gate, Hedon HU12 8JP, 7.30 p.m. More information : contact hedon.history @gmail.com

Thwaite Hall Gardens, Cottingham Hedon & District Local History Society's evening tour of Thwaite Hall Gardens , Cottingham will take place on Tuesday 12 July. The tour will start at 7pm and finish around 9pm. The entrance to the gardens is via Thwaite Street. Map here . There is a small car park at the bottom of the drive but space is limited and car-sharing recommended wherever possible.  Please bring waterproofs (and perhaps an umbrella) in case of rain. Suitable footwear is also required. The recent heavy rain has left the garden very wet and it may be muddy underfoot in places.  Light refreshments (tea, coffee, biscuits, etc.) will be provided by Stephen, Andrew and Kevin. The cost of the evening - tour and refreshments - will be £8 per person. 

Paul Glazzard, https://commons.wikimedia.org Please note programme details for the society's first trip of the summer. 6pm. Swine Church (left). 7pm. Dowthorpe - gardens. 8pm. Dowthorpe - house / buffet supper Costs: Swine - donation; Dowthorpe gardens only - £5; Dowthorpe gardens, house & buffet supper (pre-booked only) - £15.

Photo: courtesy of Hull Daily Mail It is with great sorrow that Hedon & District Local History Society announces the death on 14 May 2016 of our president and friend, Dr John Markham, Honorary Freeman of the Town of Hedon. John founded the Hedon & District Local History Society in 1971, serving in a number of capacities over the next 45 years, latterly as president and programme secretary. A particular highlight of recent years has been his annual President's Evening, held in the gracious surroundings of Hedon Town Hall. A generous donation will support these lectures in future and has also equipped the society with a top-quality digital projector. Only a fortnight ago John was in Hedon to enjoy our May meeting, and he left happily anticipating our summer trips to Swine, Dowthorpe Hall and Thwaite Hall Gardens. John's funeral will take place on Friday 17 June, 11.30am, at the Church of St John of Beverley, 5 North Bar Without, Beverley HU17 7AG, and afterwards

Few Victorians were more passionate about ceramic decoration than Hull builder David Reynard Robinson. Many of his gloriously tiled buildings in Hull have sadly been demolished, including his own offices in Freehold Street, but his pièce de résistance - the curious house he built for his retirement in Hornsea - survives. Naming the house 'Farrago', Robinson used every surface, inside and out, to experiment with multi-coloured, multi-textured tiles of every available type. Attracted by the richly tiled stairwell and first-floor hall, Josie Adams (former curator of Scarborough Art Gallery and co-founder of the Tile Society) bought 'Farrago' in 1975 and has since worked tirelessly to return the house to its full glory, slowly uncovering the treasures hidden by a mask of paint, wallpaper and polystyrene in a restoration project that continues to the present day.  Josie Adams has also invited members to enjoy a closer view of 'Farrago' on Tuesday 9 A

Don't miss ' The Settlement at the End of the World: Ex-Servicemen's Communal Farming at Sunk Island, 1917-27 ', when former Hull Local Studies Librarian Jill Crowther turns the spotlight on an almost forgotten episode in the history of Holderness. Jill will examine the national background to the creation of this agricultural settlement in the latter years of the First World War, the social problems of its urban families and the stresses it placed on the existing rural community. Sunk Island remains a remote place at the edge of the Humber estuary, its open landscape and wide skies vividly described by the contemporary writer Winifred Holtby, who used it as a setting for her final and most celebrated novel 'South Riding'.   Next meeting : Tuesday 10 May : Josie Adams , 'Welcome to Farrago' . All welcome! Join at any meeting. £10 a year.   Venue : Church Rooms , Magdalen Gate, Hedon HU12 8JP, 7.15pm for 7.30pm .   More information : co

A tale of Victorian scandal comes to Hedon & District Local History Society on Tuesday 8 March, when Dr Alan Deighton reveals the extraordinary history of ' Count' Adolph de Werdinsky , alias Dr David Beck. Werdinsky died in penury in Hull in 1856 and is buried in the Western Cemetery, Spring Bank, 'By Strangers Honor'd And By Strangers Mourn'd' - but what lies behind the memorial to this self-proclaimed Polish aristocrat?   Next meeting : Tuesday 12 April 2016 - Jill Crowther - The Settlement at the End of the World: Ex-Servicemen at Sunk Island, 1917-27 All welcome! Join at any meeting. £10 a year.   Venue : Church Rooms , Magdalen Gate, Hedon HU12 8JP, 7.15pm for 7.30pm .   More information : contact hedon.history @gmail.com   FUTURE MEETINGS  10 May : Josie Adams - 'Farrago', Hornsea's unique tiled house   14 June : Visit - St Mary's Church, Swine & Dowthorpe Hall 12 July : Visit - TBC 9 August : Visit