Who killed Kelso Cochrane?
Kelso Cochrane was a Caribbean man living in Notting Hill when he was brutally murdered. Read on to find out more.
Image: Kelso Cochrane | Fair Use
The murder of Kelso Cochrane is not only a significant crime in British history, but it is also a symbol of the racial tensions in the country in the late 1950s. The case is well known for the astonishing lack of justice brought to the culprits. It is also notable for how it shaped the future of race relations and racial discrimination in Britain.
Kelso Cochrane’s murder is explored in more detail in the Sky HISTORY series, Britain’s Murder Map. Read on to discover how the perpetrators managed to escape conviction. This article also examines how the murder brought the community together to stand against racial prejudice.
Who was Kelso Cochrane?
Kelso Cochrane was born in Antigua on 26th September 1926. He trained as a carpenter and then moved to the United States in 1949, working on a farm before joining the US Army.
While in the States, he got married and had two daughters. However, his marriage fell apart, leading to his deportation back to Antigua. After his American dream failed, Kelso decided to try moving again, this time to the United Kingdom.
Kelso came to England in 1954, settling in the West London district of Notting Hill. He had a 21-year-old fiancée named Olivia Ellington, and he enjoyed listening to the jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald.
He earned a living as a carpenter, but he had dreams of becoming a lawyer and was saving money so he could go to law school. Kelso did not forget about his family in the US. He would often send toys and other gifts to his daughters when he could.
The murder of Kelso Cochrane
On 17th May 1959, not long after midnight, Kelso was walking home from Paddington General Hospital. He had a broken thumb and his arm was plastered due to an accident at work. The pain from the injury was causing him to lose sleep, hence why he visited the hospital in the night.
When he got to the junction of Goldborne Road and Southam Street, a group of young white men jumped him. They beat him and then stabbed him with a stiletto knife. The group ran away when two Jamaican men approached. Kelso was taken to the hospital, but the doctors soon realised the knife had pierced his chest. He was pronounced dead not long before 1:00 am.
Why was Kelso Cochrane murdered?
Racial tensions in West London were already high at the time of Kelso’s murder, especially in Notting Hill. Far right groups such as the White Defence League and Oswald Mosley’s Union Movement held strong in the area. Racially charged riots had ensued the year before Kelso’s murder.
The police initially believed that the murder was a robbery gone wrong, publicly ruling out the theory of a racial killing. However, it is thought that this was done in an attempt to ensure that there wasn’t a repeat of the racial riots. Their investigations were also relatively shoddy. Suspects in the case were identified, but they were not properly pursued, leading to no arrests.
Who killed Kelso Cochrane?
It is thought that Kelso Cochrane was murdered by Patrick Digby and John William Breagan, though neither were ever convicted. The two had been at a party nearby around the time of Kelso’s death. Both had criminal records, and when they were interviewed, the police believed that they had fabricated a story to cover themselves.
A piece of evidence was Breagan’s previous three-year prison sentence, which he got for attacking three separate black men on the same day. When arrested, he is said to have stated, 'If I do time for this, when I come out I’ll kill the first [black person] I see. I mean that too.' It is believed that Digby is the one who stabbed Kelso, as suggested in Mark Olden’s investigative book Murder in Notting Hill. Both Breagan and Digby died before they could face justice.
The impact of Kelso’s death
Despite the obvious racial incentive, Kelso’s murder did not start a race war. Instead, his death did the opposite. It brought people together.
Over 1,200 members of the community – black and white – attended Kelso’s funeral. His death also began what would later become the Notting Hill Carnival, as activist Claudia Jones started building the groundwork for it as a response to his murder. She created events to celebrate Caribbean culture in opposition to the racial prejudice.
Kelso’s murder was abhorrent, but there is no doubt that it had a significant effect. His death brought together the white and black community of Notting Hill.
Although Digby and Breagan did not pay for their crimes, the case sparked outrage against the far right movements in the area. Kelso’s death will not be forgotten, but hopefully, the systemic racism that led to his murder won’t have the same long-lasting legacy.
Learn more about this case on Britain’s Murder Map with Vicky McClure and Jonny Owen, airing from Tuesdays at 9pm exclusively on Sky HISTORY.
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