John West Mallandaine

John West Mallandaine was born in London in 1784. He was educated at the Blue Coat School from 1792 to 1798. When he left the school, he was bound apprentice to his father, a grocer.

In 1804, John was accepted as a cadet in the East India Company Army at Addiscombe, Surrey. Later that year, he was assigned to the Madras Infantry - the 18th Native Infantry Regiment - and sailed to India aboard the "Streatham".

He rose through the ranks achieving Lieutenant in 1805, Captain in 1819, Major in 1824, and Lieutenant Colonel in 1829. During an early promotion, the EIC misspelled the family name by adding a final "e". John retained this spelling and added the middle name of West, possibly to distinguish himself from the many other Johns in the family.

On March 29, 1808, John married his first wife, Maria McCally, while stationed in India. John and Maria had four children, of which only two survived. Following Maria's death in 1821, John returned to England on leave with his two sons. He then married Mary Smith of Cambridge and returned to India with his new wife leaving his two sons in England with their grandparents.

John and Mary had five children but only four survived infancy. On a return voyage to England, Mary died, near Madras, of asiatic cholera. The family returned to England aboard the "Resource" landing in London on April 1833.

On 21 August 1833, John married his third wife, Cecilia Hawkes, at St Dunstan's, Stepney Parish. The family stayed with John's parents in London before renting a country home, Fairhill, near Shipbourne, Kent in late 1833.

John resigned his commission in the East India Company Army and went in to business with his brother-in-law, Mr. Tidd. Unfortunately, the business venture was not successful and in the end, John lost most of his savings. The family lived in Kent for several years before they were forced to leave England for financial reasons.

Maison Blanc, Dinan, France

The family moved to France - to Rouen and later, Brittany - where the lower cost of living allowed them to live on John's pension. In 1840, he purchased a home, Maison Blanc, in Dinan. John and Cecilia remained in France until John's failing health precipitated a return to England. They made it as far as St. Helier in Jersey when John's health deteriorated further. He died on 17 February 1857, at the age of 73 years, at Great Union Road in St. Helier and is buried in the cemetery at St. Saviour's Parish Church.