Royal Navy officer (1774?1862)
Admiral of the Fleet
Sir John West
GCB
(28 July 1774 ? 18 April 1862) was a
Royal Navy
officer. West saw action as a junior officer in the
first-rate
HMS
Royal George
, the flagship of Admiral
Sir Alexander Hood
in the Channel Squadron, when he took part in the
Glorious First of June
and then in the
Battle of Groix
during the
French Revolutionary Wars
.
As commanding officer of the third-rate
HMS
Excellent
, West served off the coast of
Catalonia
and landed with a
naval brigade
with orders to help defend
Rosas
which was under
attack
from some 5,000 French troops in an action during the
Napoleonic Wars
. He took 250 of his ship's men and rescued a group migueletes (Catalan mercenaries) who were at risk of losing their lives, but not before having his own horse shot out from under him.
As a senior officer, West went on to be
Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
.
Early career
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Born the son of Lieutenant Colonel Temple West and Jane West (nee Drake), West joined the
Royal Navy
in June 1788.
[1]
He was appointed to the
sixth-rate
HMS
Pomona
in the
West Africa Squadron
and then transferred to the
fourth-rate
HMS
Salisbury
, flagship of the
North America Station
, and then, having been promoted to
midshipman
, to the
second-rate
HMS
London
, flagship of the
Channel Squadron
.
[2]
He joined the
fifth-rate
HMS
Hebe
in the Channel Squadron in July 1790 and then transferred to the fourth-rate
HMS
Romney
in the
Mediterranean Fleet
in February 1793 before moving to the
first-rate
HMS
Royal George
in the Channel Squadron a few months later.
[2]
Promoted to
lieutenant
on 27 July 1793, he transferred to the
third-rate
HMS
Saturn
at
Portsmouth
in November 1793 before rejoining HMS
Royal George
, by then the flagship of Admiral
Sir Alexander Hood
in the Channel Squadron.
[2]
In HMS
Royal George
he took part in the
Glorious First of June
, when the French fleet lost seven ships, in June 1794, and then in the
Battle of Groix
, when three French ships were captured, in June 1795, during the
French Revolutionary Wars
.
[2]
Promoted to
commander
on 7 September 1795, West became commanding officer of the
sloop
HMS
Diligence
on the
West Indies Station
in December 1795.
[2]
He was promoted to
captain
on 15 November 1796 and went on to be commanding officer of the sixth-rate
HMS
Tourterelle
also on the West Indies Station.
[2]
He became commanding officer of the third-rate
HMS
Utrecht
at
Chatham
in March 1801 and commanding officer of the third-rate
HMS
Excellent
in January 1807.
[2]
In HMS
Excellent
he served off the coast of
Catalonia
and landed with a
naval brigade
with orders to help defend
Rosas
which was under
attack
from some 5,000 French troops in an action in November 1808 during the
Napoleonic Wars
.
[2]
He took 250 of his ship's men and rescued a group migueletes (Catalan mercenaries) who were are risk of losing their lives, but not before having his own horse shot out from under him.
[3]
West returned to HMS
Excellent
and served at the blockade of
Toulon
before moving on to be commanding officer of the third-rate
HMS
Sultan
in the Mediterranean Fleet in December 1809.
[4]
In HMS
Sultan
he continued to serve on the Home Station and in the West Indies until March 1814.
[2]
Senior command
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Despite not undertaking an active service, West was promoted to
rear admiral
on 12 August 1819
[5]
and to
vice admiral
on 22 July 1830
[6]
and appointed a
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
on 4 July 1840.
[7]
However, after being promoted to full
admiral
on 23 November 1841,
[8]
he was appointed
Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
, with his flag in the
first-rate
HMS
Queen
, in April 1845.
[4]
West was promoted to
Admiral of the Fleet
on 25 June 1858
[9]
and advanced to
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
on 18 May 1860.
[10]
He died at his home in
Eaton Square
in London on 18 April 1862 and was buried and commemorated by a table tomb at St John's Church at
West Wickham
in
Bromley
.
[11]
In popular culture
[
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]
In a 1965 episode of the second television season of
Danger Man
titled,
Parallel Lines Sometimes Meet
,
Patrick McGoohan
playing secret agent John Drake uses the alias John West (as at 21:40) and at the end of the episode, a Russian secret agent says to Drake, "Is it not true that you were named after a famous English admiral?", to which he assents.
[12]
Admiral John West's mother's maiden name was Drake.
[1]
Family
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West married Harriett Adams in May 1817 and they had three sons and two daughters. These included, his heir Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Temple West of Ryde, Captain Alexander George West, RN. and Major Frederick West.
[13]
See also
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References
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Sources
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