Origin information: Born in Lisbon, Portugal. Graduate of Trinity College Dublin.
Period of service: A graduate of Divinity, Trinity College Dublin, Despard became Honorary Secretary to the Patagonian Missionary Society committee in Redlands, Bristol, in 1850. In 1856 he led a party to the mission station on Keppel Island, Falkland Islands / Malvinas, and became the Superintendent until his resignation in 1862. This group included his adopted son, Thomas Bridges, who would continue working for SAMS and go on to form a home in Tierra del Fuego. Despard remained connected to the SAMS committee for several years after his resignation. Included in the party led by Despard in 1856 was Charles Conyngham Turpin.