Herbert Richmond Palmer

Sir Herbert Richmond Palmer (25 April 1877 – 22 May 1958) was an English barrister, who became a colonial supervisor for Britain during the inter-World War period. He served as a lieutenant governor in Nigeria, governor and Commander-in-Chief of The Gambia and governor and Commander-in-Chief of Cyprus. Early life Palmer was born in 1877 in Lancaster to Robert Palmer, a clergyman, of The Bank House, Kirkby Lonsdale and Mary Chippendall, who were married on 11 May 1867 at Lancaster Priory. Mary was the great-granddaughter of John Higgin who was governor of Lancaster Castle from 1783 to 1833. Palmer was educated at Oundle School in Northamptonshire, being recorded in 1895 as an exceptional batsman. He went up to Trinity Hall, Cambridge in 1896 as a scholar reading Classics. He was awarded his BA in 1899, and his Bachelor of Laws a year later. While at Cambridge, he played club rugby for Cambridge University and was awarded a Blue, playing wing three-quarter, in 1899 in the rugby Varsity match against Oxford. In 1899 he became a member of Percy Carpmael's invitational touring team, The Barbarians.