Major Henry West was an officer in the British Army and the main antagonist (aside from the Infected) in 28 Days Later. He was portrayed by Christopher Eccleston.
History[]
When the Rage Virus spread across Britain, West and his platoon were tasked with defending the Forty-Second Blockade outside of Manchester, only for most of the unit to be wiped out and the survivors forced to retreat to Worsley House in the woods. There, the soldiers barricaded themselves inside, fortifying their position by planting barbed-wire fences, tripwires and landmines around the mansion. Around this time, one of West's troops - Mailer - became infected, but West was able to incapacitate him and had him chained up in the yard so he could find out how long it would take for the Infected to starve to death.
With Great Britain cut off from the rest of the world, Major West and his men came to believe that the Rage Virus had spread across the globe, completely destroying human society. This was not the case, but without any media broadcasts or any aircraft appearing in British airspace, they had no way of knowing the truth. West and his men set up a repeating radio message in hopes of attracting survivors from across the country, claiming that they held the answer to the infection. However, West, driven insane by the hopelessness of their situation, was only concerned about rebuilding society by gathering female survivors and forcing them into sexual slavery.
Thirty days following the outbreak, four survivors from London - Jim, Selena, Frank and his daughter Hannah - arrived at the 42nd Blockade in response to West's message. Unfortunately, Frank became infected and West's soldiers had to put him down. They escorted the others to Worsley House where Major West greeted them, offering them shelter and food. While West initially presented himself as a kind saviour, he revealed his true intentions after his men tried to force themselves on Selena, telling Jim that he had promised his men women to restore their hope and repopulate the country. When Jim refused to join West, the Major ordered two of his men to take Jim out into the woods and execute him.
Death[]
West and his soldiers found themselves in peril after Jim escaped from his execution. Filled with vengeful fury, Jim released Mailer from his chains and let him run free through the mansion, attacking his former comrades. Noticing Mailer on the loose in the house, West retreated outside and waited in the back of Frank's taxi for Jim to arrive. When Jim, Selena and Hannah got to the cab, West shot Jim in the stomach. Hannah took the wheel of the cab and reversed it into the pursuing Mailer who smashed through the rear-window, pulling West out of the car and dragging him back towards the house. West could be heard screaming off-screen as Mailer mauled him to death.