Sir William Gladstone, 7th Baronet

Sir William Gladstone, 7th Baronet
Sir William Gladstone, 7th Baronet
Born	Erskine William Gladstone; 29 October 1925
Died	29 March 2018 (aged 92); Hawarden Castle, Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales
Spouse(s)	Rosamund Anne Hambro (m. 1962⁠–⁠2018)
Issue	3
Father	Sir Charles Gladstone, 6th Baronet
Mother	Isla Margaret Crum
Occupation	Chief Scout
	Arms of Sir William Gladstone
Lord Lieutenant of Clwyd
	In office; 1985–2001
Preceded by	James Ellis Evans
Succeeded by	Trefor Jones

Sir Erskine William Gladstone of Fasque and Balfour, 7th Baronet, KG, JP, DL (29 October 1925 – 29 March 2018) was a teacher and an officer in the Royal Navy. The Scout Association appointed him as its Chief Scout from 1972 to 1982.

Gladstone was the son of Sir Charles Gladstone and Isla Margaret Gladstone (née Crum), and a great-grandson of the former prime minister, William Ewart Gladstone. He was educated at Eton, and joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in 1943 and saw action in World War II, mainly based on destroyers in the Indian Ocean. Upon leaving the navy (with the rank of lieutenant), he studied at Christ Church, Oxford and received an honours degree in history. He then entered the teaching profession, with positions at Shrewsbury and Eton, and he became head master of Lancing in 1961. He retired from the teaching profession in 1969.

Family

He married Rosamund Anne Hambro on 10 September 1962. They had three children.

Rosamund was daughter of Major Robert Alexander Hambro and Barbara Jessica Hardy Beaton.

Baronetcy

At the death of his father in 1968, he became the 7th Gladstone Baronet. He was made a Knight Companion of the Garter in 1999.^[1] He held the office of Justice of the Peace (JP) for Flintshire in 1982. He held the office of Vice-Lord-Lieutenant of Clwyd between 1984 and 1985. He was Lord Lieutenant of Clwyd from 1985 to 2000.

Gladstone became a Boy Scout whilst a student at Eton. He encouraged the Lancing School Scout Group whilst Head Master. The Scout Association appointed him as its Chief Scout, a position he held from 1972 to 1982.^[2] During his tenure he took special interest in the development of Scouting in deprived areas, particularly the inner cities and new housing estates.^{[citation needed]} In 1979, the World Organization of the Scout Movement's committee elected him as chairman.

Death

He died on 29 March 2018 at the age of 92^[3] at his residence, Hawarden Castle, Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales.^[4] He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son, Charles Gladstone, 8th Baronet.

Books

Gladstone: A Bicentenary Portrait (Michael Russell, 2009) ISBN 978-0-85955-317-9
People in Places (Michael Russell, 2013) ISBN 978-0-85955-325-4
Family, Friends & Fervours (Michael Russell, 2015) ISBN 978-0-85955-327-8

References

^ "No. 55466". The London Gazette. 23 April 1999. p. 4575.
^ "Meet the Chiefs" (PDF). The Scout Information Centre. October 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 October 2007. Retrieved 8 December 2007.
^ Notice of death of Sir William Gladstone, announcements.telegraph.co.uk. Accessed 19 January 2023.
^ "Gladstone, of Fasque and Balfour, Kincardineshire". Cracroft's Peerage. Retrieved 19 January 2023.

Honorary titles
Preceded by James Ellis Evans	Lord Lieutenant of Clwyd 1985–2001	Succeeded by Trefor Jones
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Charles Andrew Gladstone	Baronet (of Fasque) 1968–2018	Succeeded by Charles Gladstone
The Scout Association
Preceded by Lord Maclean	The Scout Association's Chief Scout of the United Kingdom and Overseas Territories 1972–1982	Succeeded by Michael Walsh
World Organization of the Scout Movement
Preceded by	Chairman, World Scout Committee 1979–1983	Succeeded by Kamarul Ariffin bin Mohamad Yassin