Sir William Gladstone, 7th Baronet

Sir Erskine William Gladstone of Fasque and Balfour, 7th Baronet, (born 29 October 1925) is a retired teacher and officer of the Royal Navy. He was Chief Scout of the United Kingdom from 1972 to 1982.

Gladstone is 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 received an honours degree in history at Christ Church, Oxford. 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.

He married Rosamund Anne Hambro (born 1939) on 10 September 1962. They have three children: Charles Angus Gladstone (born 1964), Victoria Frances Gladstone (born 1967), and Robert Nicolas Gladstone (born 1968).

Rosamund is daughter of Major Robert Alexander Hambro (1910–43) and Barbara Jessica Hardy Beaton (1912–73). She is also a niece of Sir Cecil Beaton (1904–80) and Lady Nancy Smiley (1909–99) married to Sir Hugh Houston Smiley, 3rd Baronet (1905–90).

At the death of his father in 1968, he became the 7th Gladstone Baronet. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1999.

Gladstone became a Scout whilst a student at Eton. He encouraged the school Scout Group whilst Head Master at Lancing. He became Chief Scout of the United Kingdom in 1972, a position he held until 1982. During his tenure he took special interest in the development of Scouting in deprived areas, particularly the inner cities and new housing estates. In 1979 he was elected Chairman of the World Scout Committee.

His residence is Hawarden Castle in Flintshire, Wales.