John West (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral of the Fleet Sir John West
Sir John West
Born	(1774-07-28)28 July 1774 Twickenham, Middlesex
Died	18 April 1862(1862-04-18) (aged 87) Eaton Square, London
Buried	St John's Church, West Wickham
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1788–1848
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held	HMS Diligence HMS Tourterelle HMS Utrecht HMS Excellent HMS Sultan Plymouth Command
Battles/wars	French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

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.