Robert was the son of James West and along with his older border George he was apprenticed as a watchmaker at 135 Bradshawgate in 1851.
By the 1860’s he was married to Hannah and had his own family living in Stockwell street Leek.
In 1869 Robert appeared in the London Gazette, like many watchmakers of the time he was obviously struggling to make ends meet.
By 1881 Robert was married and had moved to Leek and Lowe Staffordshire, where he continued as a Watchmaker, his son James Henry was apprenticed to Robert and in 1891 his other son Robert Christopher West was his assistant at 29 Market Place.