Robert Wedderburn Firebrand abolitionist

While most British radicals fought for the rights of the exploited white working class, one man saw such rights as entwined with those of enslaved black workers. RYAN HANLEY tells the story of the ‘notorious firebrand’ who campaigned against slavery

RACHEL DICKENS

One October evening in 1809, Robert Wedderburn was walking through London, one child asleep in his arms and his daughter beside him, when he saw a gang of about 20 drunks encircling a young man near his home on Peter Street, St Giles. Things were getting hairy; it was clear the man was in danger. Wedderburn tried to pull him away from the gang peacefully, but it was no good. If he wanted to help, he'd have to get his hands dirty. He handed the sleeping child to his daughter, took off his coat and “said he would fight one or two of them at a time”. Alas, they all set upon him at once and beat him with thick walking sticks. He might have died then and there outside…

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Bbc History (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2025

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