Gerald Stapleton
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| Portrayed by Robert Morgan | |
| Full Name | Gerald Jackson Stapleton |
|---|---|
| Associated Noble House(s) | |
| Date of Birth | 9th April, 1776 |
| Father | Sir Roderick Stapleton |
| Father's Rank | Baronet |
| Mother | Angela Stapleton |
| Mother's Rank | Lady |
| Town Residence | The Albany |
| Branch of the Military | Army |
| Ship or Regiment | 9th (Norfolk) Regiment of Foot |
| Currently Enlisted? | No (on half-pay list) |
| Enlistment Date | 1792 |
| Current or Final Rank (if retired) | Major |
| Major Engagements | Seringapatam (1799), Roliça (1808), Vimeiro (1808), the Walcheren campaign (1809), Bussaco (1810) |
Gerry Stapleton is an experienced military campaigner who has recently retired from the Army's active list to its half-pay list due to a serious wound received at the Battle of Bussaco in September 1810. As well as having a severe injury to his left leg, which has left him with a pronounced limp, he also suffers from what will be known in years to come as shell-shock or PTSD. This means that he finds it extremely difficult to cope in social situations. He was created by Shar and played by Sharpie.
Family
Father: Sir Roderick Stapleton, Baronet. (b. 1735)
Mother: Lady Angela Stapleton (b. 1748)
Brother: Roderick Stapleton (b. 1772)
Brother: Geoffrey Stapleton (b. 1780)
Military Career
Ensign in the 32nd (1792)
Lieutenant in the 69th
Captain in the 12th
Captain in the 9th
Major in the 9th
Transferred to half-pay list (1811)
Gerry has spent nineteen years in the Army, having enlisted in the 32nd at the age of sixteen. In common with most men of his class, he exchanged regiments in order to make his way up the promotion ladder, purchasing into a vacant position of a higher rank in another regiment. In this way, he went from Ensign in the 32nd to Lieutenant in the 69th to Captain in the 12th, exchanging with a fellow Captain in the 9th (Norfolk) Regiment when the 9th was warned for Portugal in 1808.
One of the 'come-on' type of officers who lead from the front, Gerry has been involved in several battles, notably the taking of Seringapatam in 1799, to Roliça and Vimeiro in Portugal in 1808, the Walcheren expedition of 1809, and most recently at Bussaco in September 1810.
It was at Bussaco that he rescued his commanding officer, in the process sustaining the wound that saw him invalided out of the Army.
Since his time in Portugal, Gerry has become more quiet and withdrawn, due to seeing the results of the guerilla, the 'little war' fought between the Spanish partisans and the French, and also to the deaths of several close friends in battle.
He has returned to England with a pronounced limp and a jaded outlook on life. He has transferred to the half-pay list rather than selling out, as a way of clinging to the past, although he will not admit this, saying instead that he prefers to have a regular if reduced income from the Army rather than taking the value of his commission as a lump sum that he would spend in a few months.