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Yvonne Blenkinsop (pictured), Dr Margaret Carswell, Mikhail Vasenkov, Denise Coffey

Matthew Bannister on campaigner Yvonne Blenkinsop, ornithologist Dr. Margaret Carswell, spy Mikhail Vasenkov, actor Denise Coffey.

Matthew Bannister on

Yvonne Blenkinsop, one of the four so-called 'Headscarf Revolutionaries' from Hull who campaigned for better safety regulations on fishing trawlers after three were lost at sea in 1968.

Margaret Carswell, the doctor and ornithologist who treated survivors of the Ugandan civil war and in her spare time compiled the definitive guide to the country’s bird population.

Mikhail Vasenkov, the Russian spy who assumed a South American identity and lived undercover in the United States for decades.

Denise Coffey, the talented comic actor who made her name in the TV show 'Do Not Adjust Your Set'.

Producer: Emily Finch

Interviewed guest: Nell Carswell
Interviewed guest: Grace Carswell
Interviewed guest: Gordon Corera
Interviewed guest: Dr. Brian W. Lavery
Interviewed guest: Humphry Barclay
Interviewed guest: Michael Coveney
Interviewed guest: Miriam Margolyes

Archive clips used: British PathΓ©, Hull - Trawlers Lost At Sea - Wives Demand Stricter Safety Measures 1968; Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service, Witness - Hull's Headscarf Revolutionaries 12/02/2018; Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ TV, Look North - Yvonne Blenkinsop gets freedom of the city of Hull 20/12/2018; YouTube, Triple Trawler Disaster - Hull 1968; xeno-canto, XC292779 Speckled Tinkerbird / XC291649 Woodland Warbler; Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service, Witness - The Fall of Idi Amin 29/04/2014; Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ News 24, Russia/US Spy Swap 09/07/2010; Rediffusion, Do Not Adjust Your Set Ep 05 25/01/1968; Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 Extra, Alison and Maud 20/05/2009.

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Sun 1 May 2022 20:30
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

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Clip

Yvonne Blenkinsop

Born 19 May 1938; died 24 April 2022 aged 83.

Last Word spoke to author of The Headscarf Revolutionaries Dr. Brian W. Lavery.

Margaret Carswell

Born 20 February 1935; died 7 April 2022 aged 87.

Last Word spoke to her daughters Nell and Grace Carswell.

Mikhail Vasenkov

Born 9 October 1942; died 6 April 2022 aged 79.

Last Word spoke to author of Russians Among Us and Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Security Correspondent Gordon Corera.

Denise Coffey

Born 12 December 1936; died 24 March 2022 aged 85.

Last Word spoke to Guardian drama critic Michael Coveney, comedy executive and producer Humphrey Barclay and to actor Miriam Margolyes.

Broadcasts

  • Fri 29 Apr 2022 16:00
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
  • Sun 1 May 2022 20:30
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

Podcast

  • Last Word

    Radio 4's weekly obituary programme