George Blagden Westcott

George Blagdon Westcott
George Westcott, detail of an engraving produced after the Battle of the Nile, depicting the 15 captains involved
Born	fl. 24 April 1753 Honiton, Devon
Died	1 August 1798 Aboukir Bay Egypt
Allegiance	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1765/8 – 1798
Rank	Captain
Commands held	HMS Fortune HMS London HMS Impregnable HMS Majestic
Battles/wars	First Battle of Ushant Relief of Gibraltar Second Battle of Ushant Glorious First of June Battle of the Nile

George Blagdon Westcott (fl. 24 April 1753 – 1 August 1798) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the American Revolutionary and the French Revolutionary Wars, eventually rising to the rank of Captain. He was one of Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's Band of Brothers at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, in which battle he was killed.

Westcott's year of birth is unknown, but appears to have been between 1752 and 1753, and was likely in 1753. He was the son of a baker in Honiton, Devon, and was baptised on 24 April 1753. He joined the Navy sometime between 1765 and 1768, and by 1768 he was serving as master's mate aboard the frigate HMS Solebay. He spent five years aboard the Solebay, rising to the rank of midshipman, and spending time under George Vandeput. He then moved aboard HMS Albion, 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 HMS Valiant. Under her captain, Samuel Granston Goodall, the Valiant was present at the First Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778, after which Westcott and the Valiant joined the fleet under Sir Charles Hardy in 1779. He was present with Vice-admiral George Darby's fleet when they relieved Gibraltar in April 1781.