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Wesley Spencer McCallum

Age: 28

Sex: male

Date: 2 Aug 1962

Place: unknown

Wesley Spencer McCallum was stabbed outside 3 Cromer Road in Eastville, Bristol on the night of Thursday 2 August 1962.

A man was tried for his murder but acquitted. He claimed he had acted in self-defence.

The court heard that the man tried had at loggerheads woth another man over a girl and that on the night of 2 August 1962 they had had a row over it outside 3 Cromer Road during which the accused man stabbed Wesley McCallum and two other men.

He initially denied having stabbed Wesley McCallum but at his trial he claimed that he had acted in self-defence.

The knife used to kill Wesley McCallum was found at the scene and the court heard that it was later shown to have belonged to the man tried.

The Accused Man

The accused man said that he first met the woman concerned about three months earlier when he moved into 1 Napier Road in Eastville and soon after started to have sexual intercourse with her, noting that she told him that she had also been having sexual intercourse with another man, a labourer who was one of the men later involved in the stabbing outside 3 Cromer Road in which Wesley McCallum died.

He said that around June 1962 that the woman told him that she wanted to finish with the labourer because he was married and that if he came to the house that he was not to take any notice of him. However, he said that the following day that the woman said:

The labourer is good to me. I cannot give him up. You must hide and come to me when he is at work.

The accused man noted that he and the labourer worked at the same place but had been on different shifts. He said that he didn't like what the woman told him and told her that he was going to finish with her and he left 1 Napier Road and went to live at 5 Brenner Street. However, he said that after that the woman sometimes came to visit him and he went to see her.

He said that up until that time he had been paying the woman £3 a week. However, he later said to her:

This is no good you do not cook for me and you live a prostitute life. I would rather put a ring on a pig woman rather than have a prostitute for a wife. I will give you a record as a parting gift.

He said that he bought a record called 'I will', and took it round to her at 1 Napier Road. However, he said the landlady was there and that she stopped him walking up to her room and called the woman to come down and see him. He said that when the woman came down she told him that she had a man up in her room but that he had come to see the landlady but could not go to her room as her children were there and they would tell the landladies husband.

The accused man said that he then gave the record to the woman and left.

He said the following day that the woman and the landlady stopped him in the street and told him that he was jealous and foolish and that he replied:

I don't mind. I am not coming back.

He said that the following week that he went to bingo at the Odeon in Bedminster and met the landlord from 1 Napier Road, the woman and a man that also lived at 1 Napier Road. He said that the other man had a car and that he afterwards drove them all back to Napier Road and that when he went in he saw the labourer sitting in the hall and said hello to him. He said that the labourer replied:

You must not fuck around here.

He said that he told him that he was ignorant and that the woman then went up to her room followed by the labourer. However, he said that he then went up to the woman's room to make peace with the labourer but said that he came out of the room at him with a knife and told him not to fuck around there. He said that the landlady then told him not to pay him any mind and took him downstairs and the other man then drove him home to 3 Cromer Road, where he was living by that time.

He said that in mid July 1962, on a Saturday, that he went to the bingo  again and that when he came out he saw the woman and her landlord by the bus stop. He said the landlord said hello to him and that the woman then asked him why he sent a message to her via a coloured man that lived off Seymour Road who was a friend of hers. He said that he had a lot of records and that one day found one that didn't belong to him and noted that he had lent the woman some records and that she had returned them two short, but that he later found one amongst them that was not his and thought that it might have been the woman's and so sent the message to enquire whether it was hers.

However, he said that the woman replied:

You must not send any messages to me. I am going to set a trap for you in your house. If you don't get it in your breakfast plate it will be on your dinner plate. I am going to poison you because you can't stop me coming to the house.

However, the accused man said that he replied:

Chink and dog fleas are the worst. They never show up until they go in crowds. If I put myself on a fowl roost, I must expect filth to fall on me.

He said that he then told her that she was the worst girl that he had ever put himself with and that she asked him, 'What about the other girl', the other girl being the wife of a man that lived at 24 Walton Street, noting that he had been with her and then saying that she was going to tell her husband and that he would put a gang onto him.

The accused man noted that the man at 24 Walton Street came from the same district in Jamaica as Wesley McCallum, the labourer and his landlord at 3 Cromer Road and that he was the only stranger amongst them, they coming from Hanover and he coming from St Thomas.

He said that when the bus came that he went upstairs and the woman and her landlord sat downstairs and that he didn't see them again.

He said he went to bingo again on Saturday night, 28 July 1962, and that on his way home the man from 24 Walton Street stopped him and told him that he was going to put a gang on him because he had been boasting about going with his wife, adding that the woman had told him. However, he said that he told him that he couldn't hurt him and denied having been with his wife and turned away and left.

He said that on Sunday night, 29 July 1962 that he went to bingo again and met the woman and her landlord as they were coming out by the bus stop and told the woman that the man from 24 Walton Street had told him that she had told him that he had gone with his wife and that she was setting on him and that he would go to the police about it so that they could not hurt him.

He said that the following morning he went to Eastville police station about mid-day and told them that he had been threatened, but said that they told him that they could not take a note of all things like that else they would fill their book, and told him that if a gang was raised against him that he was to get a witness.

He said that nothing happened after that until the night of 2 August 1962. He said that he worked during the day from 7.30am to 7.30pm and left work with a friend and went to a pub on Days Road where they each had two bottles of Guiness. He said that he later left his friend in the pub and went looking for room as he didn't feel safe at 3 Cromer Road and later got back home at 9.30pm because he didn't have a front light on his bicycle and left it there beneath the front window and then went off again looking for a room around St Pauls.

He said that he thought he got back to 3 Cromer Road about 11.30pm at which time he saw a white car on the opposite side of the road with two coloured men sitting in it.

He said that before going in he looked through the front window and saw the landlord and landlady there along with the labourer and Wesley McCallum. He said that when he went in that he went straight up to his room and looked at a bill. He said that his door was open and he could see down the stairs and saw the people going out. He said that about five minutes later he went out and put his bike in the passage and then went back to shut the door.

He said that when he got there Wesley McCallum asked him who he was and then asked:

What did you tell the landlord at 1 Napier Road about you seeing me in his room?

To which the accused man said he replied:

What are you on about. If you want to tell me something tell me something.

However, he said that the labourer said, 'Don't go no fucking argument with him' and that they both grabbed him and dragged him outside on to the pavement at which point the two men in the car got out and joined them.

He said that the landlord then rushed out and pushed him, but thought he did that to protect him. He said that he was then on his knees in a crouching position with his hand up to protect his face when one of the men, who had a knife, brought it down towards his face and that he grabbed the blade and felt a burning  in his hand and that he then crawled away and ran off towards Greenbank Road without looking back.

He said that he then ran off towards Eastville police station and that when he got there he saw his landlord who told him:

You have killed a man.

To which he replied:

I know nothing about it.

In his statement to the police he said that he didn't use a knife at all, that the knife he was shown was not his, and that he didn't carry a knife.

When he was seen at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, he said:

When I went home tonight there was four men waiting for me. They started to flash knives around. The landlord of my place  got between them and me and he pushed me down on the ground. I crawled away and ran down to the police station. They were all friends. They come from the same district in Jamaica. I've been with a girl who comes from 1 Napier Road, I tell her that before I put ring on her finger I out it on a pig. She living prostitute life. She came from same district as others in Jamaica. The labourer is one of the men who are friends. They say they going to poison me. They all come from the same parish in Jamaica. I the only stranger in the house.

The policeman that saw him then told him that Wesley McCallum was dead and that two others were seriously injured.

At his trial, it was heard that the knife had been his and he claimed he acted in self-defence.

Labourer

When the labourer, who worked at St Annes Board Mills gave evidence he said that he had known the accused man since April 1962 and had also known the woman who lived at 1 Napier Road.

He said that he remembered visiting the woman at 1 Napier Road one night and finding the accused man sat there, but said he didn't say anything to him.

He said that on another occasion he had been sitting in the hall at 1 Napier Road when the accused man came in on his own, followed soon after by the woman. He said the accused man said good afternoon to him but that he replied:

I don't want no how d'you do from you.

To which he said the accused man took him by the shoulder and said:

What are you going on with?

He said that he then went upstairs to the woman's room and sat down but said that the accused man then came in he shook him and said to him:

I'm not keeping up no argument with you.

He said that when the accused man shook him he saw that he had a knife in his hand, noting that it wasn't a penknife, but was a long knife with a fixed blade that wouldn't shut. He said that the woman then pushed him down the stairs and the landlord took him out of the house.

He said that on the night of 2 August 1962 that he had been in the Black Swan public house in Eastville with Wesley McCallum, his brother and another man and a while later the landlord from 3 Cromer Road came in and joined their party.

He said that they left the pub at closing time, around 10.30 to 10.45pm and all went off in Wesley McCallum's brother's carto 3 Cromer Road, parking outside at the gate and went inside into the front room on the ground floor. He said the landlord fetched his wife down and the others all had a drink, but he didn't.

He said that he didn't know what time they left, but said that they all had a good time. He said that Wesley McCallum's brother and the other man were the first to leave and that they went out and sat outside in the car. He said that as he left he looked up the stairs and saw the accused man sitting in his bedroom at the top of the stairs, but said that they didn't speak to each other and that he then walked out of the house.

He said that the car was on the other side of the road and that the two other friends were sat in it and that he then got in the back seat. He said that whilst he was sitting in the car that he looked out of the window and saw the accused man standing by the gate with his hands in his trouser pockets. He said that Wesley McCallum then came out and that he saw him and the accused man talking and arguing, and then heard the accused man say to Wesley McCallum:

Why are you fucking around with my name for?

He said that he heard nothing before that, but then heard Wesley McCallum say:

You carried my name to the landlord.

And then heard him tell the accused man that he mustn't put him in trouble or fool around with his name any more. He said that he then heard the accused man tell Wesley McCallum that he had been waiting a long time for him.

He said that he then saw the accused man put his right hand by his side, but didn't see what he took from his pocket. He said that they then started to fight and that he got out of the car and then saw that Wesley McCallum was bleeding from the nose. He said that he then asked:

What did you stab Mr McCullum for?

He noted that he had seen any stabbing, but saw him bleeding through his nose.

He said that as he said that that Wesley McCallum hit the accused man with his fist and that the accused man dropped in front of him and he hit him twice about the ear.

However, he said that the accused man then stooped  down and stabbed him twice under his left arm. He said that he then grabbed his arm where he had been stabbed and that the accused man then grabbed him and cut him in his tummy from his arm to his navel, but didn't see what he cut him with.

He said that after he cut him that he stood there and saw the accused man walking around looking at the ground whilst Wesley McCallum was walking up and down and moving his head up and down.

He said that he then saw the accused man take a knife out of his hip pocket and was about to open it when he kicked out at him and he dropped the knife  in front of him and jumped by the wall. He said that he then picked up the knife, but had no idea what it was like. He noted that he didn't own a knife and didn't have a knife on him that night.

He said that after he picked up the knife that the accused man ran off up Cromer Road.

He said that he then went to go into 3 Cromer Road but fainted at the at the door, noting that he was carrying the knife when he fainted.

The police later recovered two knifes, later labelled exhibits 3 and 4.

Woman

The woman that lived at 1 Napier Road in Eastville said that she knew the accused man when he had lodged at 1 Napier Road, but said that he left thereabout May 1962 although he sometimes returned to collect letters. She said that on one time he called and asked her to come and live with him but told him that she was going to do that and that he told her that her people had told her to say that, adding that if he didn't catch her one way, that he would catch her another.

She said that she remembered returning from bingo one Friday or Saturday evening with her landlord and another man to find the accused man outside. She said that she went into the house and saw the labourer there in the hall and then went up to her room with the labourer, who sat in a chair. She said that the accused man then also came up and stood outside the door, which was open, but didn't hear what he said. However, she said that she heard the labourer say, 'I'm not having any argument with you'. She said that the accused man was standing there with his two hands in his pockets and that she said to him:

You're not to come here making a fuss because you don't live here.

She said that the accused  man then went downstairs and nothing more was said.

She said that on another occasion when she was out at the bingo with her landlord that she met the accused man outside at the door to the Odean cinema and he said:

Has your people told you not to come and stay with me? If I don't catch you one way, I'll catch you another. If I don't catch you I must catch somebody for you. I have a knife here ready for anyone.

She said that nothing more was said after that.

She noted that she had seen him with a knife before which she stated was similar to exhibit 3 and that the last time she saw him with a knife was when he lived at Napier Road. She added that she had also seen him with a pocket knife, similar to exhibit 4.

Landlord at 3 Cromer Road

The landlord at 3 Cromer Road said that he was a carpenter and lived there with his wife. He said that the accused man had occupied a bed-sitting room at his house since the beginning of July 1962, his room being on the first floor at the top of the stairs, overlooking the staircase and the front door.

He said that the accused man came into his room on the Sunday whilst he was there with his wife and that he told his wife that the labourer was going to make up a gang to fight him and that if they came to fight him somebody was going to be sorry, and that he said to him:

You mustn't take no notice.

He said that on the night of Thursday 2 August 1962 that he went to the Grosvenor public house  and then went on by bus to the Black Swan public house at Eastville where he met some friends, including Wesley McCallum and his brother, the labourer and a fourth man with whom he had some drinks.

He said that they all left at about 10.30pm and went back to his house in Wesley McCallum's brother's car and had some drinks in his front room which he provided.

He said that they later left at about something to twelve, Wesley McCallum's brother and the fourth man going first, followed by the labourer and that he spent a few minutes walking to Wesley McCallum in the passage.

He said that Wesley McCallum then went outside and he went out to say goodbye and that he then saw the accused man with his hands in his pockets.

He said that Wesley McCallum then said to the accused man:

I understand you are talking lying stories on me. I'm a man who doesn't interfere in other people's business.

He said that the labourer had been over the other side of the road at the time, but that he then came over and all three of them were talking.

he said that after Wesley McCallum spoke to the accused man that the accused man replied:

You can say anything you want to say.

He said that they then all started rowing and that Wesley McCallum said:

You're telling him on me and I don't like it.

He said that the accused man then moved his hand across near the three of them and that he intervened because they were getting rough and that both Wesley McCallum and the accused man swore and cursed. He then told them that he didn't want any brawling there, noting that he didn't see anything in the accused man's hand, however, he said that as he moved his  hands he brushed against him and he felt a slight pain in his left side.

He said that the accused man then ran up towards Greenbank and Wesley McCallum went after him a few yards and then came back and said something to him and then fell to the ground. He noted that the labourer was also there 'spinning around' in the street.

He noted that he didn't see any blows, just the sideways movement of his hands.

He said that he then ran to Eastville police station and spoke to an officer on duty there and saw blood on his shirt. He said that whilst he was talking to the officer there that the accused man came in and that when he came up, he said:

This is the man that did the cutting.

He said that the accused man then said:

They ganged me.

However, the landlord of 3 Cromer Road said:

That's a lie. Some friends came to look for me and it was no gang.

The accused man was tried at the Bristol Assizes but acquitted on Friday 16 November 1962. He was also acquitted of four other counts of wounding relating to the wounds caused to the labourer and the landlord after the prosecution offered no evidence.

The defence stated that it only needed a spark to set them alight. He noted that Wesley McCallum believed that the accused man had been speaking about an alleged affair with another man's wife and that the labourer had no love for him because of their joint association with the woman from 1 Napier Road. The defence said that the situation was od:

These two men going for the accused and the accused really believing that his life was in danger and lashing out in desperation to keep these people at bay.

The prosecution said that the principle question was whether the accused caused the death of Wesley McCallum, noting that there was no doubt that the wound was caused by a knife and that they now knew that that knife had belonged to the accused. The prosecution referred to what he termed the accused's:

Combination of defending himself against attack, coupled with some degree of provocation.

By saying:

You may think that a fair view was that in the heat of the moment, after high words had been spoken and blows struck, this man, instead of running away, took that knife out of his pocket, opened it, and struck recklessly and wildly at the people he was fighting.

It was in that light suggested that a fair verdict would be manslaughter and not murder.

After the judge summed up for 2½ hours, the jury found the accused man not guilty.

see discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk

see National Archives - ASSI 26/268

see Nottingham Evening News - Friday 16 November 1962

see Liverpool Daily Post (Welsh Edition) - Saturday 17 November 1962

see Liverpool Echo - Wednesday 05 September 1962