Forgotten Facts

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Literary Lives 12

Nassau through the eyes of a British Army officer and painter

PAUL C ARANHA

FORGOTTEN FACTS

Without the generosity of the late Orjan Lindroth, I might never have heard of Gaspard Le Marchant Tupper (1826-1906) and his watercolours of my belovèd New Providence.

I treasure the 2004 book that he and his wife, Amanda, produced, in cooperation with the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, “The Awakening Landscape – The Nassau Watercolours of Gaspard Le Marchant Tupper.”

From his name, I assumed the artist to be Frenchman, but Google proved me wrong. Tupper was an Englishman and an officer in the British Army, who served in widely scattered parts of the world, including Nassau.

One of his forebears, LieutenantGeneral J Gaspard Le Marchant, enjoyed one of the most illustrious careers in the history of the British Army. Early in his career, he said: “I am determined to rise to the head of my profession and nothing but death will stop me.”

He was true to his word and went on to found the Royal Military College, serving as its long-term governor. It was he who revolutionised the training of British officers, beginning with his handbook “Rules and Regulations for the Sword Exercise of the Cavalry”.

He produced a revolutionary design for a sabre, regarded as one of the best of its kind; and died a glorious

TUPPER, East of Ft. Fincastle 1854

GASPARD Le Marchant Tupper, Royal Horse Artillery, c. 1862

death in 1812, at the Battle of Salamanca, a distinguished officer who had devoted his life to the pursuit of professionalism. At public expense, a monument to him was erected in London’s St Paul’s Cathedral.

Lt-Gen Marchant included the classics, drawing and watercolouring in the curriculum of the new Royal Military College, which explains why there are so many excellent paintings and watercolours produced by countless British officers, wherever they happened to be posted. Tupper’s works are excellent examples.