Sir Erskine William Gladstone of Fasque and Balfour, 7th Baronet (29 October 1925 – 29 March 2018) was a teacher and an officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. The

Scout Association The Scout Association is the largest organisation in the Scout Movement in the Scouting in the United Kingdom, United Kingdom. Following the rapid development of the Scouting, Scout Movement from 1907, The Scout Association was formed in 1910 ...

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 A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

. He was educated at Eton, and joined the

Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

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 Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and received an

honours degree Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, ...

in history. He then entered the teaching profession, with positions at

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

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. He held the office of Justice of the Peace (JP) for

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

in 1982. He held the office of Vice-Lord-Lieutenant of

Clwyd Clwyd ( , ) is a preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the area. To the north lies the Irish Sea, with the English cerem ...

between 1984 and 1985. He was Lord Lieutenant of Clwyd from 1985 to 2000. Gladstone became a

Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...

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. During his tenure he took special interest in the development of Scouting in deprived areas, particularly the

inner cities Interior may refer to: Arts and media * ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See * Interior de ...

and new housing estates. In 1979, the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts (formed in 1911), is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. ...

's committee elected him as chairman.

Death

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

Books

* ''Gladstone: A Bicentenary Portrait'' (Michael Russell, 2009) * ''People in Places'' (Michael Russell, 2013) * ''Family, Friends & Fervours'' (Michael Russell, 2015)

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gladstone, Sir William Gladstone, 7th Baronet 1925 births 2018 deaths 7 William Gladstone, 7th Baronet Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Deputy lieutenants of Flintshire Head Masters of Lancing College Knights of the Garter Lord-lieutenants of Clwyd People educated at Eton College People from Hawarden Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Chief Scouts (The Scout Association) World Scout Committee members English people of Scottish descent Welsh people of Scottish descent Welsh people of English descent Recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award Welsh justices of the peace