| Sir Arthur Power Palmer | |
| Birth Date: | 25 June 1840 |
| Placeofburial: | Brompton Cemetery |
| Birth Place: | Kurubul, India |
| Death Place: | London, United Kingdom |
| Allegiance: |  United Kingdom |
| Serviceyears: | 1857–1902 |
| Rank: | General |
| Commands: | Indian Army |
| Battles: | Tirah Campaign |
| Awards: | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire |
General Sir Arthur Power Palmer, (25 June 1840 – 28 February 1904) was Commander-in-Chief, India between March 1900 and December 1902.
Power Palmer was born in June 1840, at Karnaul (Karnal), India, the son of Nicholas Palmer and Rebecca Carter Barrett.[1] Educated at Cheltenham College, he was commissioned into the 5th Bengal Light Infantry in 1857.[2] He took part in subduing the Indian Mutiny in 1857.[2]
In 1880, he was appointed assistant adjutant-general in Bengal and in 1885 was commander of the 9th Bengal Cavalry for the Suakin Expedition.[2] In 1897 he took part in the Tirah Campaign.[2] He was also General Officer Commanding 2nd Division during the action at Chagru Kotal.[2]
In January 1898, he became commander-in-chief Punjab Command,[3] and on 19 March 1900 he became commander-in-chief of India after the sudden death of Sir William Lockhart, holding this post for two and a half years.[2]
In a farewell dinner held at Simla in late October 1902, the Viceroy, Lord Curzon said the following about their relationship:[4]
Palmer returned to the United Kingdom in December 1902, and was received in audience by King Edward VII in January 1903, when he was invested with the insignia of a Knight Grand Cross of the Indian Empire (GCIE),[5] which he had received in the 1901 Birthday Honours. He retired from the Army the same year. He died in London in 1904 and is buried at Brompton Cemetery.[2]
Palmer married in 1867 Julia Helen Aylmer née Harris (1848–1896)[6] who died in October 1896 and is buried at the Old Christian Cemetery, Abbottabad,[7] Pakistan. They had a daughter:
He remarried in 1898 Constance Gabrielle Richardson née Shaw (1864–1912), widow of Walter Milton Roberts. They had two daughters:
Their mother died in 1912, whereupon they were informally adopted by Horace Smith-Dorrien and his wife Olive, whose mother was their father's stepsister.[8]