 He was born in Falmouth on the English coast the son of Dr. Thomas Stokes Guppy (1812–1893) a local physician, and his wife Charlott Ann Brougham (1826–1894).He was educated at Sherborne, and studied Medicine at Queen's College in Birmingham then Edinburgh University where he graduated MB CM.He worked as a surgeon in the Royal Navy from 1876 to 1885.