Walkers to remember strides taken by anti-slavery activist

A DESCENDANT of one of Scotland's most famous anti-slavery activists is to take part in an event to retrace his ancestor's steps this weekend.

Lord Wedderburn of Charlton will join hundreds of walkers who are set to follow the route taken by his fifth-generation grandfather Robert Wedderburn in Musselburgh more than 200 years ago.

He was the illegitimate son of a Scottish landowner and a Jamaican slave. Freed at birth at the request of his father, he sailed to London and eventually became a tailor.

In 1795 he travelled to his father's Scottish home at Inveresk Lodge, but was turned away with nothing but some beer and a "bent sixpence".

Following the rejection, Robert returned to London and became an activist at a Unitarian chapel in Soho, where he preached against the slave trade.

The walk - along the River Esk from Musselburgh to Inveresk Lodge - has been organised by Action of Churches Together in Scotland to commemorate the bicentenary of the passing of the abolition of slavery act in Britain.

Speaking from his home in London, Lord Wedderburn told the Evening News he was "delighted" to be taking part.

He said: "As I am a descendant of Robert Wedderburn, I thought it would be fitting if I was there at this celebration of his life and achievements.

"Unfortunately, as I am quite disabled, I won't be going on the actual walk from Musselburgh, but I do plan on being at Inveresk Lodge to greet all those who do take part.

"When Robert came to Scotland, he hoped to meet with his father at the house but, unhappily, he was turned away. Because of his background as the son of a slave in Jamaica, it spurred him into campaigning against the slave trade when he returned to London.

"This event is just part of the celebrations that have been set up to mark the passing of the act that abolished the slave trade in 1807, but I hope that it will also serve as a celebration of Robert's activities as an early anti-slavery campaigner.

"I am looking forward to coming to Scotland and am delighted to be taking part in it."

Lord Wedderburn said his involvement had come about after he read an Evening News feature on Robert Wedderburn in 2003, which encouraged him to get in touch with Geoff Palmer - a professor of grain science at Heriot-Watt University who also traces his roots to the 18th and 19th century Jamaican slavery system.

Prof Palmer, who helped set up the event, said that he had contacted Lord Wedderburn earlier this year and the peer was "determined" to take part in the walk.

He said: "We're really happy that he is coming up for this event. As soon as we set up the walk and got everything in place, I phoned him and he assured me he would do everything he could to take part.

"Robert Wedderburn is a very important figure because he links Scotland with both the slaves in Jamaica, through his slave mother, and also the anti-slavery movement in Britain.

"We are hoping that this will be a race-relations event and are expecting around 200 people to take part.

"We've also been in touch with some Scottish heritage people about the possibility of making this walk a permanent attraction. We're hoping that it will be included in any future leaflets that document important walking routes in the area."

The walk will take place on Sunday from the riverside gardens opposite Inveresk Road at 2.30pm.

There are several other events taking place in Edinburgh to celebrate the landmark anniversary - including a preview of the movie Amazing Grace, which tells the story of 18th/19th century anti-slavery politician William Wilberforce.

The facts

POLITICIANS including Lord Grenville, Charles Fox and William Wilberforce were the main movers behind the Bill that effectively abolished the slave trade in Britain.

They were supported by the anti-slavery movement, including Robert Wedderburn, who preached in Soho in opposition to the "conspiracy against the poor" in Britain.

Wilberforce, a Tory, was seen as one of the main proponents of abolition in the House of Commons, despite the fact that his fellow party members were opposed to any restrictions on the slave trade.

He joined forces with Fox, the Whig Foreign Secretary, and led a campaign in Parliament after the House of Lords blocked a Bill in 1805 that made it unlawful for any British subject to capture and transport slaves.

After persuading both the Commons and the Lords in 1807, a law was finally passed which meant that British captains who were caught trading were fined £100 for every slave found on board.

However, it took further campaigning by anti-slavery activists, such as Thomas Clarkson, Thomas Fowell Buxton and Wedderburn to finally persuade Parliament to pass the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833 - effectively making all slavery illegal in Britain.