John West, 2nd Earl De La Warr (9 May 1729 – 22 November 1777), styled Viscount Cantelupe from 1761 to 1766, was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer, peer and courtier.

Early life

Born The Honourable John West, he was the son of John West, 7th Baron De La Warr and his first wife, the former Lady Charlotte MacCarthy (1700–1734/5). His younger brother was George Augustus West (who married Lady Mary Grey, eldest daughter of

Harry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford Harry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford (18 June 1715 – 30 May 1768) was an English peer, styled Lord Grey from 1720 to 1739. Biography Harry Grey was born at Enville Hall, the eldest son of Henry Grey, 3rd Earl of Stamford. He was educated at R ...

and Lady Mary Booth, only daughter of

George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington (2 May 1675 – 2 August 1758) was an English peer and landowner, who amassed a fine collection of silver. Life Born at Mere Hall, Cheshire, on 2 May 1675, the second son of Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warri ...

). His two sisters were Lady Henrietta Cecilia West (the wife of Gen. James Johnston) and Lady Diana West (the wife of Lt.-Gen. Sir James John Clavering). After the death of his mother, his father remarried to Anne Neville, Lady Bergavenny (widow of George Neville, 1st Baron Bergavenny), daughter of sea captain Nehemiah Walker, in June 1744. His father was the only 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 in ...

and the former Margaret Freeman (the daughter and heiress of John Freeman, merchant, of London). His mother was the only daughter of

Donough MacCarthy, 4th Earl of Clancarty Donough MacCarthy, 4th Earl of Clancarty (1668–1734) fought for James II of England, James II in the Williamite War in Ireland at the Siege of Derry. He was attainted in 1691 after the defeat. MacCarthy went into exile to the Netherlands, wh ...

, an Irish-Gaelic nobleman, and Lady Elizabeth Spencer (second daughter of

Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, (5 September 164128 September 1702) was an English nobleman and politician of the Spencer family. An able and gifted statesman, his caustic temper and belief in absolute monarchy nevertheless made him n ...

Career

In 1746, West entered the army as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in the 3rd Infantry Guards, rising to Lt.-Col., with the 1st Troop of Horse Guards 1755 and to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in 1758. From 1760 to 1761, he served as '' aide-de-camp'' to the King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

and was promoted to major general in 1761. In 1761, West's father was created

Earl De La Warr Earl De La Warr ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1761 for John West, 7th Baron De La Warr. The Earl holds the subsidiary titles of Viscount Cantelupe (1761) in the Peerage of Great Britain, Baron De La Warr (15 ...

and Viscount Cantelupe, enabling West to use the latter as a

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

. From 1761 to 1766, Cantelupe was Vice to Chamberlain to

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Un ...

and he was Captain and Colonel of the

1st Troop Horse Grenadier Guards The Horse Grenadier Guards, usually referred to as Horse Grenadiers, were a series of cavalry troops in the British Household Cavalry between 1687 and 1788, who used grenades and other explosives in battle. Originally attached to the Horse Gu ...

from 1763 to 1766. After inheriting his father's titles in 1766, he became

Master of the Horse Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today. (ancient Rome) The original Master of the Horse () in the Roman Rep ...

to Queen Charlotte and Captain and Colonel of His Majesty's Own Troop of Horse Guards, serving in both roles until his death in 1777. In 1768, he became

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

to Queen Charlotte and in 1770, he was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

of the

.M. E. Clayton, ''West, John, first Earl De La Warr (1693–1766)'',

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2004; online edn, May 200
accessed 7 June 2008
/ref>

Personal life

On 8 August 1756, West married Mary Wynyard (d. 1784), daughter of Lt.-Gen.

John Wynyard John Wynyard (died 20 February 1752) was an officer of the British Army. On 25 December 1703 he was made captain-lieutenant of Roger Elliott's Regiment of Foot, being also the regimental adjutant. He was a captain by 1709, when he was on recruit ...

and the former Catherine Allestrec. Together, they were the parents of two daughters and three sons, including: * William Augustus West, 3rd Earl De La Warr (1757–1783), who died unmarried. * John Richard West, 4th Earl De La Warr (1758–1795), who married Catherine Lyell, daughter of Henry Lyell, a Swedish nobleman who had emigrated to England. * Hon. Frederick West (1767–1852), who married Maria

Myddelton Myddelton is a surname, a variant of Middleton associated with Wales. Notable people with the surname include: *Sir Richard Myddelton, 3rd Baronet (1655–1716), Welsh politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1685 to 1705 *Sir Thomas Myddel ...

, sister and co-heiress of Richard Myddelton and second daughter of Richard Myddelton of

Chirk Castle Chirk Castle () is a Grade I listed castle located in Chirk, Wrexham County Borough, Wales, from Chirk railway station, now owned and run by the National Trust. History The castle was built in 1295 by Roger Mortimer de Chirk, uncle of Roge ...

and Elizabeth Rushout (daughter of Sir John Rushout, Bt,

Treasurer of the Navy The Treasurer of the Navy, originally called Treasurer of Marine Causes or Paymaster of the Navy, was a civilian officer of the Royal Navy, one of the principal commissioners of the Navy Board responsible for naval finance from 1524 to 1832. T ...

) in 1798. She died in 1843. * Lady Georgiana West (d. 1832), who married Edward Buckley and mother of

Edward Pery Buckley General Edward Pery Buckley (7 November 1796 – 28 May 1873) was a British Liberal and Whig politician. Personal life Buckley was the son of his namesake, Edward Pery Buckley, and Lady Georgiana West. He married Lady Catherine Pleydell-Bouve ...

, MP for Salisbury. * Lady Matilda West (d. 1843), who married her first-cousin, Gen. Henry Wynyard, Commander-in-Chief, Scotland. Lord De La Warr died in Audley Square in

Mayfair, London Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts in ...

on 22 November 1777 and was buried in St. Margaret's, Westminster on 30 November that year. His titles passed to his eldest son,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

References

External links

John West, 2nd Earl de la Warr (1729-1777), General
at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:De La Warr, John West, 2nd Earl 1729 births 1777 deaths British Life Guards officers 2 John West, 02 Earl De La Warr British Army lieutenant generals Members of the British Royal Household Burials at St Margaret's, Westminster Household of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz