Kelso Cochrane
Encyclopedia
Kelso Cochrane was an Antigua
n immigrant to Britain
whose unsolved murder sparked tensions in London
.
Cochrane had moved to London in 1954, where he had settled in Notting Hill
and worked as a carpenter
. He aimed to save sufficient money to study law
. After fracturing his thumb in a work accident, he was attended at Paddington General Hospital
. Whilst walking home, he was set upon by a group of white youths who stabbed him with a stiletto knife. Three other men arrived on the scene, and the youths ran off. The three men took Cochrane to hospital, where he died. His funeral was attended by more than 1,200 people.
Notting Hill was at the time a stronghold for Oswald Mosley
's Union Movement
and Colin Jordan
's White Defence League
. The previous year, race riots had broken out in the area. The detective investigating the cases was initially convinced that the youth's motive was robbery
, but Cochrane's lack of money was explained by his fiancé, as Cochrane himself had emptied his wallet that morning. Searchlight
claimed in 2006 that the police's public denial of any racist motive "was almost certainly a misguided attempt to ensure calm in the area".
Local Union Movement member Peter Dawson later claimed to the Sunday People that it had been a group member who was responsible for the murder. Mosley himself later held a public meeting on the spot where Cochrane had been murdered. Following the murder, the British Government organised an investigation into race relations, chaired by Amy Ashwood Garvey
.
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
n immigrant to Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
whose unsolved murder sparked tensions in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Cochrane had moved to London in 1954, where he had settled in Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
and worked as a carpenter
Carpenter
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
. He aimed to save sufficient money to study law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
. After fracturing his thumb in a work accident, he was attended at Paddington General Hospital
Paddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
. Whilst walking home, he was set upon by a group of white youths who stabbed him with a stiletto knife. Three other men arrived on the scene, and the youths ran off. The three men took Cochrane to hospital, where he died. His funeral was attended by more than 1,200 people.
Notting Hill was at the time a stronghold for Oswald Mosley
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
's Union Movement
Union Movement
The Union Movement was a right-wing political party founded in Britain by Oswald Mosley. Where Mosley had previously been associated with a peculiarly British form of fascism, the Union Movement attempted to redefine the concept by stressing the importance of developing a European nationalism...
and Colin Jordan
Colin Jordan
John Colin Campbell Jordan was a leading figure in postwar Neo-Nazism in Britain. In the far-right nationalist circles of the 1960s, Jordan represented the most explicitly 'Nazi' inclination in his open use of the styles and symbols of the Third Reich.Through organisations such as the National...
's White Defence League
White Defence League
The White Defence League was a British far-right political group. Using the provocative marching techniques popularised by Oswald Mosley, its members included a young John Tyndall.-Formation:...
. The previous year, race riots had broken out in the area. The detective investigating the cases was initially convinced that the youth's motive was robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
, but Cochrane's lack of money was explained by his fiancé, as Cochrane himself had emptied his wallet that morning. Searchlight
Searchlight (magazine)
Searchlight is a British anti-fascist magazine, founded in 1975 by Gerry Gable, which publishes exposés about racism, antisemitism, and fascism in the UK....
claimed in 2006 that the police's public denial of any racist motive "was almost certainly a misguided attempt to ensure calm in the area".
Local Union Movement member Peter Dawson later claimed to the Sunday People that it had been a group member who was responsible for the murder. Mosley himself later held a public meeting on the spot where Cochrane had been murdered. Following the murder, the British Government organised an investigation into race relations, chaired by Amy Ashwood Garvey
Amy Ashwood Garvey
Amy Ashwood Garvey was a Jamaican Pan-Africanist activist and the first wife of Marcus Garvey.Garvey was born in Port Antonio, Jamaica, she spent some years living in Panama. As a child, she was told by grandmother that she was of Ashanti descent...
.
Legacy
On Sunday, 17 May 2009 to mark the 50th anniversary of Cochrane's death, a blue plaque was unveiled at the Golborne Bar & Restaurant, now The Earl of Portobello (36 Golborne Road, London W10), just opposite the place where he was attacked.External links
- "Who killed Kelso Cochrane?", BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
- "Fifty Years on - Remembering Kelso Cochrane"