Charles George Palmer (15 October 1847 – 13 August 1940), civil engineer, was the last surviving man to hold the Lucknow medal for his role in the defence of the Residency in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

during the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

Early life

Palmer was born on 15 October 1847 at

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

in the province of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

in north-west

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He was the son of General Henry Palmer of the 48th Native Infantry. The family were based at Lucknow when the

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

began on 30 June 1857 and Palmer, then just nine years old, was a pupil at

La Martinière College La Martinière College is a consortium of bi-national elite private schools, majority of them located in India. They are officially non-denominational private schools with units of two-two branches in Indian cities of Kolkata and Lucknow respec ...

. In the Residency Palmer was put on routine duties which included grinding corn. After a few days he was attached to the battery of his brother-in-law, Captain Ralph Ouseley, and helped to carry ammunition and messages to the guards. On the second day of the fighting Palmer's 19-year-old sister, who had only recently arrived from England, was killed by a cannonball. She is commemorated by a tablet on the school walls. A second sister and her two small children were killed in the later stages of the hostilities. In 1858 after the relief of the garrison Palmer was sent to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to complete his education. He attended

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors , ...

in Dorset for five years, leaving in 1863.

Career

In 1866 Palmer joined the Thomason Civil Engineering College in

Roorkee Roorkee (Rūṛkī) is a city and a municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is from Haridwar city, the district headquarter. It is spread over a flat terrain under Sivalik Hills of Himalayas. The c ...

, north India. Two years later in 1868 he took up a position with the Public Works Department in Chakrata. By 1876 he was in charge of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

division of the

Etawah Etawah also known as Ishtikapuri is a city on the banks of Yamuna River in the state of Western Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Etawah District. Etawah's population of 256,838 (as per 2011 population census) m ...

Canal and the next year he was involved in the relief work following the famine. He briefly moved to Australia to set up a brick-making business in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

but by 1880 had returned to India. He was responsible for the construction of of the Lower Ganges Canal which commanded an irrigable area of and had of distributaries. He was also in charge of the construction of the Eastern Jumna (or

Yamuna The Yamuna (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a ...

) Canal. Palmer was in charge of the relief works during the great famine of 1896, for which he received the thanks of the Lieutenant-Governor and of the Government of India. The following year he became a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (C.I.E.). By 1900 Palmer was the head of the Public Works Department and was also the Chief Engineer and Secretary to the Government. He retired in 1900, and in 1910, at the age of 63, he emigrated to

Duncan Duncan may refer to: People * Duncan (given name), various people * Duncan (surname), various people * Clan Duncan * Justice Duncan (disambiguation) Places * Duncan Creek (disambiguation) * Duncan River (disambiguation) * Duncan Lake (d ...

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

where he became a farmer. Palmer died on 13 August 1940 at the age of 92.

Family

Palmer married Annie Isabel Porter in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. They had two sons and three daughters. One of their sons, C H Palmer, was a Major with the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

, and the other son, J H G Palmer, served in the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

References

Obituary: ''Mr. C. G. Palmer – Medal for Lucknow Defence''. ''The Times'', 19 August 1940. {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Charles 1847 births 1940 deaths People from Jalandhar La Martinière College, Lucknow alumni Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857