The murder of Kelso Cochrane

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2022

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In May 1959, Kelso Cochrane, a carpenter who'd emigrated to Britain from Antigua, was knifed to death by a gang of white youths in West London. The unsolved murder came at a time of racial tension in the area and led to the first official inquiry into race relations in British history. For its part, the large Caribbean community in West London responded by creating the cultural festival that became the Notting Hill Carnival. Claire Bowes talks to Victoria Christian, a friend of Kelso Cochrane.

PHOTO: The funeral of Kelso Cochrane in 1959 (Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.
0:04.7	My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:08.5	As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.
0:18.0	What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,
0:24.6	poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples.
0:29.7	If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds.
0:37.0	Hello and welcome to Witness History with me Claire Bowes on the BBC World Service.
0:46.0	In 1959 a black man from Antigua was killed in London in what's regarded as the first racist murder in modern times in the UK.
0:56.0	The killing of Kelso Cochran shocked Britain and frightened people in the Caribbean who regarded England as the mother country.
1:04.0	I've been speaking to Victoria Christian who knew Kelso well. After the bombings of the Second World War, much of London laying ruins, But as reconstruction began and the economy picked up, people
1:26.7	from Britain's colonies in the West Indies were encouraged to come to the UK for work.
1:31.8	The Empire Windrush brings to Britain 500 Jamaicans. Many
1:34.8	are ex-servic servicemen who know England. They serve this country well. In Jamaica they
1:39.2	couldn't find work. Discouraged but full of hope, they sailed for Britain.
1:43.0	Citizens of the British Empire coming to the mother country with good intent.
1:47.0	Protted by public opinion, the colonial office gives them a more cordial reception as the BBC reported in visit.
1:58.0	But the welcome didn't last. As the BBC reported in 1956, many black people found getting jobs and housing difficult.
2:06.0	So you went to eight houses where you knew that there were vacancies?
2:09.0	Yes, I did. Of the eight, six refused accommodation and 2 accepted.
2:16.0	Sometimes the prejudice was much more explicit with signs telling black people not to apply.
2:22.0	Far-right politicians began staring up trouble,
2:25.0	and in West London in 1958
	...

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