Richard Gilbert West FRS (31 May 1926 – 30 December 2020[1]) was a British botanist, geologist and palaeontologist.

On return to England, he went to Clare College, Cambridge in 1948 taking Botany and Geology at Part I.

Although being tempted to take Geology for Part II, he decided to study Botany, for which he obtained First Class Honours and the Frank Smart Studentship.

His research has been mainly based on the understanding of interglacial and cold-climate period palaeobotany and stratigraphy, but also sedimentation and periglaciation.

As well as inspiring three generations of research students, he published numerous reviews, over 120 papers and 9 books.