Lieutenant-General John West, 1st Earl De La Warr (4 April 169316 March 1766), styled The Honourable John West until 1723 and known as The Lord De La Warr between 1723 and 1761, was a British soldier, courtier and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

from 1715 to 1722.

Background

West was the son of

John West, 6th Baron De La Warr John West, 6th Baron De La Warr (1663 – 26 May 1723) was an English nobleman and courtier. He is alternatively described as the 15th Baron de la Warr and as Baron Delaware. He was born the second son of Charles West, 5th Baron De La Warr and i ...

, by Margaret, daughter and heiress of John Freeman, a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

merchant.thepeerage.com Lt.-Gen. John West, 1st Earl De La Warr
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Military and political career

After travelling in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

West was appointed Clerk-Extraordinary of the Privy Council in 1712. In 1715 he was returned to parliament as one of two representatives for

Grampound Grampound ( kw, Ponsmeur) is a village in Cornwall, England. It is at an ancient crossing point of the River Fal and today is on the A390 road west of St Austell and east of Truro.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 204 ''Truro & Falmouth'' ...

, a seat he held until 1722. In 1715 he also became a guidon and 1st major of the

1st Troop of Horse Guards The 1st (His Majesty's Own) Troop of Horse Guards was formed from King Charles II's exiled followers in the Netherlands (the Stuart monarchs had been overthrown during the English Civil War, and replaced with the Commonwealth). The regiment was ...

and was promoted to

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

in 1717. In 1723 he succeeded his father in the barony of De La Warr and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. He was appointed a

Lord of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household; the term being fir ...

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgor ...

and made a Knight of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

in 1725. In 1728 he was admitted a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. In 1731 Lord De La Warr was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed

Treasurer of the Household The Treasurer of the Household is a member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The position is usually held by one of the government deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons. The current holder of the office is Mar ...

, a position he held until 1737. In 1732 he was appointed speaker of the House of Lords in the absence of Lord King, the

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...

. He was a supporter of tough sanctions against the city of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

after the

Porteous Riots The Porteous Riots surrounded the activities of Captain John Porteous (c. 1695 – 1736), Captain of the City Guard of Edinburgh, Scotland, who was lynched by a mob for his part in the killing of innocent civilians while ordering the men ...

of 1736. The latter year he was sent on a special mission to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to escort Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, where she was to become the wife of

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fa ...

. Lord Hervey, who described De La Warr as a "long, lank, awkward person", thought that "no fitter selection could have been made to disarm the jealousy of the prince, and that a more unpolished ambassador for such an occasion could not have been found in any of the Goth or Vandal courts of Germany." De La Warr and the future Princess of Wales landed at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

in April 1736. In 1737 De La Warr was appointed Governor of New York and New Jersey. However, he never travelled to America. He continued his military career while being active in the House of Lords and fought at the

Battle of Dettingen The Battle of Dettingen (german: Schlacht bei Dettingen) took place on 27 June 1743 during the War of the Austrian Succession at Dettingen in the Electorate of Mainz, Holy Roman Empire (now Karlstein am Main in Bavaria). It was fought between a ...

in 1743 during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's ...

. On 30 August 1737, he was commissioned colonel of the

, an appointment he held until his death. He became a Brigadier-General in 1743, a

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in 1745, a Lieutenant-General in 1747 and a General of the Horse in 1765.the-peerage.com In 1752 he was appointed

Governor of Guernsey The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British crown dependency off the coast of France. Holders of the post of Governor of Guernsey, until the role was abolished in 1835. Since then, only Lieutenant-Governors have been appointed (see Lieutenant Gover ...

, a post he held until his death. In 1761

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

created him Viscount Cantalupe and Earl De La Warr.

Family

Lord De La Warr was twice married. He married firstly Charlotte, daughter of

Donough MacCarthy, 4th Earl of Clancarty Donough MacCarthy, 4th Earl of Clancarty (1668–1734) fought for James II in the Williamite War at the Siege of Derry. He was attainted in 1691 after the defeat. MacCarthy went into exile to the Netherlands, where he lived for some time on t ...

and Lady Elizabeth Spencer, on 25 May 1721. They had two sons and two daughters, including Lady Diana, wife of Sir John Clavering. After his first wife's death in February 1735 he married secondly Anne, daughter of Nehemiah Walker and widow of

George Nevill, 13th Baron Bergavenny George Nevill, ''de facto'' 13th (''de jure'' 1st) Baron Bergavenny (c.1659 – 11 March 1720/21) was an English peer. The son of George Nevill and Mary, daughter of the Roundhead Bulstrode Whitelocke and his second wife Frances Willoughby, ...

, in 1742. There were no children from this marriage. Anne died in June 1748. Lord De La Warr remained a widower until his death in March 1766, aged 72. He was succeeded by his eldest son, John, Viscount Cantelupe.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:De La Warr, John West, 1st Earl 1693 births 1766 deaths British Army lieutenant generals British Life Guards officers West, John 1 Fellows of the Royal Society Grenadier Guards officers Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath West, John Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

Colonial governors of New Jersey Governors of the Province of New York British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession