Hull to celebrate Jean Bishop’s legacy with Bee Lady Day, honoring the beloved fundraiser’s birthday.
I reported for the Hull Daily Mail for nearly forty years. I interviewed many people, but some interviews are easier to remember than others. Meeting Jean is one of those memorable interviews. She was a lively 91-year-old who, despite having arthritis, joked on TV and expressed her desire to take David Walliams home.
Jean won Fundraiser of the Year, and in 2013, the Daily Mirror gave her a Pride of Britain Award. At the time, she wanted to raise £100,000 more for Age UK Hull & East Yorkshire (HEY). Jean was small but full of energy, fun, and defied her age.
The interview flew by as we laughed and shared memories. I filled my notebook with great quotes. She spent hours in shopping centers, rattling her collection tin for charity while dressed in a bumble bee costume complete with a hat and antennae. She made friends and raised money wherever she went.
This tiny champion deserves a day in her honor. She had a huge heart and smile. People will honor her on May 13, 2025, which would have been her 103rd birthday.
Age UK HEY created Bee Lady Day and hope Hull and East Yorkshire will join in to continue Jean’s legacy. She was selfless and a great fundraiser. Jean would be thrilled with the idea, but she was always humble about her work.
Jean’s maiden name was Applegate. She won Charity Champion at another awards show, the Hull Daily Mail’s Pride of East Yorkshire Awards. She talked about her early life in Hull, even though she was born in Louth, Lincolnshire. Her family moved to Hull before her first birthday, she told me of childhood games.
Jean was the youngest of four children. She went to Thoresby Street and Middle Street schools. Her mom washed clothes to help the family financially. Her dad owned the Masons Arms Hotel, but Fred went bankrupt after he declined a deal with Billy Butlin who wanted him for his holiday camp. Fred thought it was ridiculous.
Jean chuckled as she spoke of starting her job at 14 at Harlands Printers, near the Land of Green Ginger in Hull. She biked there and recalled how she fell asleep on her bike once and rode into the level crossing.
When war broke out, Jean wanted to join the Land Army, but her dad got upset and instead got her a job at the Brough aircraft factory. It was there she met her husband, Cliff Bishop, who was a fitter.
Jean became a dinner lady and later went back to Harlands, working evening shifts. She left to care for Cliff when he was sick. After he died, Jean felt lost and saw knitting classes at Age Concern, the old name for Age UK, which introduced her to the charity.
I met her in her west Hull home, where she’d lived since the 1950s. Jean ran the knitting classes, calling them “more nattering than knitting”. She liked dressing up and would bring in funny hats.
Her daughter made the bee outfit using striped fur and hula hoops. She wore it for her collections, and Jean was amazed it lasted so long. Kids wanted to touch it.
Jean said people were always friendly. She never had a nasty moment.
It was lovely to talk to Jean; she joked I’d need reminding why I was there. Jean said she stopped asking why people visited. She talked to so many people and was filmed, but she didn’t know what it was all for. She invited them in, sat down, and told them to carry on. Let’s hope people honor Jean’s work on Bee Lady Day.
