Gaston is a supporting character in the Sharpe TV series, appearing in Sharpe's Siege, Sharpe's Mission, and Sharpe's Revenge.
He was portrayed by the late Ercüment Balakoglu.
Biography[]
Gaston was the loyal batman of General Calvet, wearing the insignia of a corporal. He and Calvet were old comrades and had a relaxed relationship. After their first encounter with the French intelligence officer Major Pierre Ducos, Calvet remarked to Gaston that in Russia they ate men like Ducos for breakfast. Gaston took part in the failed assault on the fort occupied by Major Richard Sharpe and his men, being among those blinded by Sharpe's use of lime. Calvet spoke to him sympathetically in the aftermath, asking if it had been as bad as Moscow.
Gaston was again at Calvet's side when they received a visit from another French officer, Colonel Cresson. Gaston was tasting mushrooms for Calvet and jokingly pretended that one of them was poisonous. Cresson's plan to capture British intelligence chief Major-General Ross was foiled by Sharpe, who also destroyed Calvet's powder magazine. When he returned to Calvet, the general insisted Cresson eat one of the mushrooms. As he cautiously did so, Gaston shot him in the back, executing him for his failure.
Gaston accompanied Calvet at Toulouse, where the French army in the south was finally broken by the British assault. They and the small number of men with them went into the hills to see what service they could continue to do. Word reached them that Sharpe had been accused of stealing the Emperor's treasure, so Calvet sent Gaston to keep an eye on things in Paris. Gaston saw Sharpe's friend Captain Frederickson and alerted Calvet, but Frederickson quickly convinced them he and Sharpe were innocent and had been framed by the real thief: Ducos. After heading to Normandy to collect Sharpe and Harper, the group joined forces to assault Ducos' fortress in Naples. Gaston and Calvet took their leave of Sharpe after recovering most of the treasure.
