In St Mary’s church at Stapleford Tawney is a memorial to Mary Charlotte, daughter of Sir Charles Joshua Smith Bart. The memorial shows that she was married to Colonel Gaspard Le Marchant Tupper.
Mary died on the 22 April, 1879 at the age of 50 years.
Her husband Gaspard Le Marchant Tupper was born in 1826, into one of the most influential and possibly the wealthiest family in Guernsey, in the Channel Islands. He was educated at Elizabeth College, and joined the Royal Regiment of Artillery in 1845. He was gazetted a First Lieutenant in 1846.
He served in the Crimea from 1854 to 1856, taking part in the battle of Balaklava, was slightly wounded at Inkerman, and took part in the Siege and Fall of Sebastopol. He was promoted to the rank of Captain in 1856. In 1858 he was back in England, in command of A Troop, Royal Horse Artillery.
Gaspard married Mary Charlotte Smith, daughter of Sir Charles Joshua Smith, on the May 13th, 1861 at Kinwarton Church, Warwickshire.
He was posted to Ireland in 1862, and was gazetted a Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel. By 1865 he was back to England, but in December of that year he had arrived in India.
By 1871 he was back in England attached back to the Horse Artillery. The Times newspaper (October 17th, 1871), reported:
“The Duke of Cambridge arrived at Woolwich yesterday morning by road from London, for the purpose of making the annual inspection of the troops under the command of Major-Gen. Sir David Wood, K.C.B., Commandant of the district. (…) The first line consisted of the F and G Batteries of the B Brigade, RHA, under the command of Col. G le M. Tupper (...)"
He was then in command of the B Brigade of Royal Horse Artillery. Promoted to the rank of Colonel in 1877, he was gazetted a Major-General in 1884, Lieutenant-General in 1888. He was made a Companion of the Bath (CB) in 1905, on the occasion of the "Jubilee of the Crimean War".
He died on the 5th July 1905. His death being announced by The Times newspaper (on July 5th, 1906):
"TUPPER.- On the 2nd July, at 24, Cornwall-gardens, S.W., Lieut.-General Gaspard Le M. Tupper, C.B., Colonel-Commandant Royal Horse Artillery, in the 80th year of his age. No flowers."
Gaspard was an accomplished water-colourist who is known for his views of such places as Bermuda, the Crimea, and Puerto Rico. One of his water colours hangs in the Victoria and Albert Museum, in London.