The Hounding of David Oluwale
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By Kester Aspden
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‘David Oluwale’s story has a raw power…and Kester Aspden makes it relevant for the reader of today’ Mishal Husain
An award-winning microhistory that examines the death of David Oluwale and institutionalised police racism in Britain.
When, in May 1969, the body of David Oluwale was found in the River Aire near Leeds, few questions were asked about the circumstances of his death. Oluwale was homeless and had spent time in a psychiatric hospital, an immigrant from Nigeria who was trapped in a system that had failed him miserably.
Eighteen months later a lengthy campaign of harassment by two Leeds policemen was uncovered – Oluwale became national news in Britain, and a symbol for its black community. This extraordinary book draws on original archival material only recently released to revisit one of the most chilling crimes in British history, and at the same time raises questions as relevant today as they were at the end of the sixties.
Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction 2008
’Aspden’s painstaking research, empathetic approach and ability to weave together a vivid wider social critique show Oluwale was done a terrible disservice’ Metro
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Whitley Bay Book Group discussed The Hounding of David Oluwale in October 2023.
David Oluwale was a British-Nigerian migrant born in Lagos, who moved to the UK to make a new life. Although initially happy, his experience in Leeds was ultimately tragic. After experiencing a blow to the head by the police, David faced ill mental-health, homelessness, racism and systematic police harassment and violence, before being hounded to his death in 1969 by drowning in the River Aire. The author draws on original archive material and interviews to revisit this chilling crime, and raises questions which are still relevant today.
Some of us knew of this incident, but some of us had never heard of it. Several were familiar with the parts of Leeds in which it was set.
We all found the book well researched and well written, and engaged with the subject. At times it was not a comfortable read, and there were a couple of comments like “too depressing to read on holiday” and “too heavy for a book club choice”.
Much of our discussion was around the extent to which things have moved on in the last 50 years. Homelessness, mental health care in the community, institutional racism, and abuse of power by some police forces are still with us, so the issues in the book still resonate now.
This was a good choice for the group as it led to a really interesting and stimulating discussion, and was not a book that many of us would have picked out for ourselves.
We awarded it between 3 and 4.5 stars, with an average of 4.
As a postscript, while we were reading this book, one of us saw a news report that as part of Leeds Year of Culture 2023, a sculpture by Yinka Shonibare - Hibiscus Rising – has been commissioned in memory of the life and legacy of David Oluwale. https://leeds2023.co.uk/whats-on/hibiscus-rising
