2021 | BBC Radio Documentary

New voices & deep insight into #DavidOluwale story in this groundbreaking #BBCRadio4 doc. Please listen & RT. Congratulations & thanks to #TonyPhillips & #AnnaScottBurns https://t.co/h1LPLWqgc9

— Remember Oluwale (@RememberOluwale) October 17, 2021

Point of memory

Tony Phillips, a Leeds-born audio producer, worked with Anna Scott-Brown to create a documentary called Remember Oluwale for BBC Radio 4. It was aired in the Archive on 4 slot at 8pm on 16 October 2021 and is available any time on BBC Sounds.

Tony spoke to us as part of this project. He said he remembered hearing about David Oluwale as a child. He said, ‘I do remember the phrase “Remember Oluwale”,’ which became the title of the documentary When he saw David Oluwale’s mugshot, Tony connected with the sadness in his face. He linked this with the perception of black people being portrayed as perpetrators in the news. This memory was strengthened by the book Foreigners (2007) written by his brother Caryl Phillips (Phillips, 2022).

David’s Oluwale’s Story

The documentary includes a collage of interviews, storytelling, songs and poetry. These provide an overview of David Oluwale’s story and the way he has been remembered. Tony interviews various people with a connection to David Oluwale, including some who knew him and others who have fought to keep his memory alive. Many of the interviewees reflect on why David Oluwale should be remembered.

Lord Victor Adebowale, the former Chief Executive of Turning Point, said, ‘David Oluwale’s story was partly my motivation’ to help homeless people (BBC Sounds, 2021).

The songwriter Ellen Smith was concerned that his story wasn’t publicised. She said ‘why do we not know about it?’ (BBC Sounds, 2021).

Linton Kwesi Johnson said I couldn’t get it out of my mind, how could they have done this to this black man?’ ‘We weren’t getting any protection from the police’ (BBC Sounds, 2021).

The documentary investigates the harassment that David Oluwale endured and the behaviour of the police at that time. It describes an altercation between David Oluwale and the police at his regular pub, the King Edward Hotel, where he was accused of not paying his bill and was ‘struck with a truncheon’ (BBC Sounds, 2021). The police were infamously forceful during this period. Brian Topp a retired police officer, explained that, at the Leeds City Police, ‘we were a force, and we were there to enforce the law’ (BBC Sounds, 2021).

Tony goes on to investigate David Oluwale’s mental health. He told us that when Oluwale was a patient at Menston asylum, ‘it was difficult’ (Phillips, 2022). The documentary explains that he was subject to electroconvulsive therapy and largactil, a standard treatment for mental illness at the time. Tom Booth, a nurse at Menston, describes how David was on a refectory ward, one specifically for aggressive patients. He remembers David as a ‘biter’ and a difficult patient. Phillips explains that David Oluwale would have experienced ‘direct racism’ at Menston, and that the impact of his treatment would have been ‘traumatising’ (BBC Sounds, 2021).

The documentary doesn’t only focus on the negative part of David Oluwale’s life. An interview with Oluwale’s friend and fellow stowaway Gabriel Adams gives an insight into some happier memories. The interview explains how David Oluwale and other Nigerian migrants would dance and socialise at the Mecca Ballroom. This opens up a history that many people would not otherwise have heard.

Why was David Oluwale remembered in this way?

When asked this question, Tony stated, ‘why do I think David Oluwale should be remembered? It hasn’t really sunk in yet what happened. He needs to be celebrated’ (Phillips, 2022).

Tony wanted to tell David Oluwale’s story in a way that showed it wasn’t an isolated experience and that people are experiencing the same injustices that he went through (Phillips, 2022). Tony explains that David Oluwale’s story coincided with events in his own life where he realised, ‘you weren’t the same as other kids, your hair is different, or your skin is different. It wasn’t always positive’ (Phillips, 2022).

The documentary links David Oluwale’s story to wider inequalities in race, mental health, homelessness and police brutality. These issues are still shaping people’s lives today. Tony explained that ‘Oluwale has done a great service in the tragedy of his life I think people will learn and benefit from his life. It hasn’t been in vain’ (Phillips, 2022).

The use of different sources and methods was also deliberate. The documentary uses a mixture of speech and music to engage its listeners and provide insight into the different ways David Oluwale has been remembered since the 1970s. This differs from previous sites of memory where only one type of media has been used.

What impact has the documentary had?

Perhaps the most important thing about this documentary is that it made a local story national.

BBC Radio 4 is a popular station with 11.5 million weekly listeners each week, which is over 20 per cent of the adult population (BBC, 2017). BBC data shows that the average listener is 56 years old and skewed towards the upper middle class. Tony estimates that, ‘a good number of people tuned in without ever hearing of Oluwale’ (Phillips, 2022). He went on to explain that if the story becomes familiar, and ‘people are putting together their own idea of what that programme meant, then that is a good thing’ (Phillips, 2022).

Importantly, being broadcast on BBC Radio 4 meant that the documentary was liked to be trusted by its listeners. As a BBC Trust review states, ‘Radio 4 sets the standard for high-quality, intelligent speech radio programming. It is highly thought of by its audience, many of whom regard it as a “national institution”’ (BBC, 2015, p.3). If the information is trusted, it will have more of an impact.

Tony hopes that ‘Radio 4 helped people find the documentary, which will have helped them find David’s story’ (Phillips, 2022).