Richard Annesley West, (26 September 1878 – 2 September 1918) was a British Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Contents
Early life and education
Richard Annesley West was born on 26 September 1878 at 1 Oxford Street, Cheltenham, the sixth child of Irish landowner and former army officer Augustus George West and his wife Sara West (née Eyre), of Whitepark, County Fermanagh.
He was educated at Monkton Combe School in Somerset and at Uckfield Agricultural College in Sussex.
Military career
West enlisted in the Imperial Yeomanry in 1900 to serve in South Africa, transferring to Kitchener's Fighting Scouts and spending time as a prisoner of war in Linley, Orange Free State. After the war, he remained in
South Africa until 1909, farming and training racehorses.
West was 39 years old, and an acting lieutenant colonel in the North Irish Horse, seconded to 6th Battalion, Tank Corps during the First World War when the following action took place for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.