West was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England in 1905, the son of Mildred (née Hartley) and Henry Cope West, and through his mother a fourth cousin of the actress Margaret Lockwood, their common ancestor being Joseph Lockwood (c1758-1837), a former Mayor of Doncaster, Yorkshire.
He made his stage debut in 1926 as Lieutenant Allen in Alf"s Button at the Hippodrome Theatre in Margate, Kent. His London stage debut was as Henry Bevan in The Barretts of Wimpole Street at the Queen"s Theatre in 1931. West"s television appearances included Just William (1962), Doctor Finlay"s Casebook (1964), Number Hiding Place (1965), The Prisoner (1968), Doctor at Large (1971), Please Sir! (1972), Upstairs, Downstairs (1972), The Pallisers (1974), I, Claudius (1976), Porterhouse Blue (1987) and posthumously in Specials (1991).
His film appearances include A Song for Tomorrow (1948),,,,, and as Geoffrey in The Dresser (1982).
He died of cancer on 28 March 1989 in Brighton.
