‘I felt absolutely sick’: John Gladstone’s heir on his family’s role in slavery | Slavery

For Charlie Gladstone, the question is not what sort of ancestor he had, but what sort of ancestor he wants to be.

When he learned about John Gladstone’s involvement in slavery he was moved to tears. “I felt absolutely terrible. I really, really hated it. It was a shock and I felt absolutely sick.”

“Slavery is a crime against humanity and to have someone in the family involved in that is horrendous.”

Eton-educated Charlie is an author and entrepreneur who employs about 100 people. He worked in the music industry and runs retail and hospitality businesses. But he knows his education and opportunities in life can be traced to his great-great-great grandfather’s plantations in the Caribbean, especially Guyana.

As well as the home of William Gladstone – John’s son and four-time British prime minister – at Hawarden Castle in north Wales, Charlie inherited Glen Dye, an estate in the Scottish highlands. He’s dedicated the past 30 years to getting both out of debt.

The Gladstones have donated about £60,000 to fund a research post at UCL, the university that revealed the true extent of Britain’s slave-owning past and the £20m paid to 46,000 British slave owners in compensation.

A further £100,000 will help set up a research department at the University of Guyana. The money is not coming from a single fund – each family member is making a contribution. The family also supported a research group in Liverpool where the Scottish-born John moved to pursue his interests in the West Indies.

Charlie, 59, said: “Through this apology I want to say to other families and other institutions ‘you can do this’ and it’s incredibly worthwhile for the people that you do it with. It’s a game changer.”

“I can take my family and say let’s do this together, let’s try and make things better… rather than saying it wasn’t us, it’s got nothing to do with us.”

The Observer revealed in 2020 that the Conservative MP Richard Drax inherited and controlled one of the biggest plantations in Barbados where his ancestors were the driving force behind plantation slavery. They also owned slave ships. The MP for South Dorset, who is worth about £150m, refuses to apologise for his ancestors’ role or offer reparations.

“Richard Drax and I just couldn’t have a more different view,” said Charlie. “The only way that we as a family can live with this is to turn it into something good and something positive.”

Charlie’s wife Caroline, his son Felix and daughter Xanthe, brother Rob and Charlie’s nephew Will Merison arrive this Thursday in Guyana, which, though in South America, is part of Caricom, the economic and political organisation of Caribbean countries.

Events include a church service to commemorate the life of John Smith, an English missionary who died in prison after he was sentenced to death for aiding the slaves’ revolt of 1823.

Will 27, believes in the healing power of apology. “This is a very dark part of my family’s history.

“I’m doing this with an open heart and an open mind, but I’m not ignoring all the complex opinions and issues. There’s no official apology from the British government for slavery and I find that astonishing.”

Felix, 23, a student, said: “I was horrified. John Gladstone was a nasty, unpleasant, racist and socially ignorant man. Sharing a family tree with someone of that nature was not something I felt good about.

“He was fundamentally harmful and evil to the Guyanese people. I want to use that history to look forward, as a means of improvement for their future and to open up a dialogue for Britain to understand a darker side of its history. I hope it’s the start of a long relationship.”

Charlie added: “It’s really what sort of ancestor do I want to be, not what sort of ancestor do I have. Ultimately the only real legacy I will ever leave is a legacy of love.

“I want to make the world a better place. I am keen to go to Guyana at the invitation of the reparations committee and the University of Guyana and try to walk into the future with them. Ultimately I want my family to hold its head up high and say ‘we have done our best to try and make a difference’.”