George Blagdon Westcott

Captain George Blagdon Westcott (1753 – 1 August 1798) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars. He was one of Rear-admiral Horatio Nelson's "band of brothers" at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, at which he was killed.

Family and early life

Westcott was born in Honiton, Devon in 1753 and baptised on 23 April. His parents were Benjamin and Susanna Westcott, with Westcott's father working as a baker. He joined the Royal Navy sometime between 1765 and 1768, and by 1768 Westcott was serving as a master's mate onboard the frigate . He spent five years aboard Solebay, rising to the rank of midshipman, and spending time under George Vandeput. He then moved aboard , where he spent the next three years under Samuel Barrington and John Leveson-Gower. He passed his lieutenant's examination on 10 January 1776 and received his promotion to that rank on 6 August 1777, moving aboard . In the darkness and smoke she collided with and became entangled in her rigging. Trapped for several minutes, Majestic suffered heavy casualties. Westcott was hit by a musket ball in the throat and killed. On 17 January 1801 he wrote to Lady Hamilton: At Honiton I visited Captain Westcott's mother – poor thing, except from the bounty of government and Lloyd's, in very low circumstances. The brother is a tailor, but had they been chimney-sweepers it was my duty to show them respect.