General

General (United Kingdom)

General is currently the highest peace-time rank in the British Army and Royal Marines. It is subordinate to the Army rank of Field Marshal, has a NATO-code of OF-9, and is a four-star rank....

 Sir Arthur Power Palmer GCB

Order of the Bath

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

 GCIE

Order of the Indian Empire

The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...

 (25 June 1840 – 28 February 1904) was Commander-in-Chief, India

Commander-in-Chief, India

During the period of the British Raj, the Commander-in-Chief, India was the supreme commander of the Indian Army. The Commander-in-Chief and most of his staff were based at General Headquarters, India, and liaised with the civilian Governor-General of India...

.

Military career

Educated at Cheltenham College

Cheltenham College

Cheltenham College is a co-educational independent school, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.One of the public schools of the Victorian period, it was opened in July 1841. An Anglican foundation, it is known for its classical, military and sporting traditions.The 1893 book Great...

, Power Palmer was commissioned into the 5th Bengal Native Infantry

5th Light Infantry

The 5th Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the Bengal Army and later of the raj-period Indian Army. It could trace its lineage back to 1803, when it was the 2nd Battalion, 21st Bengal Native Infantry...

 in 1857. He took part in subduing the Indian Mutiny

Indian Rebellion of 1857

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...

 in 1857.

In 1880, he was appointed Assistant Adjutant-General in Bengal

Bengal

Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

 and in 1885 was Commander

Commander

Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...

 of the 9th Bengal Cavalry for the Suakin Expedition

Suakin Expedition

The Suakin Expedition refers to two military expeditions led by Major-General Sir Gerald Graham V.C. to Suakin in Sudan with the intention of destroying the power of Osman Digna, the first in February 1884 and the second in March 1885.-The first expedition:...

. In 1897 he took part in the Tirah Campaign

Tirah Campaign

The Tirah Campaign, often referred to in contemporary British accounts as the Tirah Expedition, was an Indian frontier war in 1897–98. Tirah is a mountainous tract of country.-Rebellion:...

. He was also General Officer Commanding

General Officer Commanding

General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...

 2nd Division during the action at Chagru Kotal.

In 1898, he became General Officer Commanding the Punjab Frontier Force and in 1900 he became Commander-in-Chief, India

Commander-in-Chief, India

During the period of the British Raj, the Commander-in-Chief, India was the supreme commander of the Indian Army. The Commander-in-Chief and most of his staff were based at General Headquarters, India, and liaised with the civilian Governor-General of India...

 a post he held for two years.

He died in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in 1904 and is buried at Brompton Cemetery

Brompton Cemetery

Brompton Cemetery is located near Earl's Court in South West London, England . It is managed by The Royal Parks and is one of the Magnificent Seven...

.

Family

In 1867 he married Helen Aylmer; then in 1898 he married Constance Gabrielle Richardson and together they went on to have two daughters. After Constance's death in 1912 the girls were informally adopted by Horace and Olive Smith-Dorrien

Horace Smith-Dorrien

General Sir Horace Lockwood Smith-Dorrien GCB, GCMG, DSO, ADC was a British soldier and commander of the British II Corps and Second Army of the BEF during World War I.-Early life and career:...

.

Further reading

• Who Was Who 1897–1916 p545
• Oxford Dictionary of national Biography pp475–6

External links

• NEW COMMANDER IN INDIA.; Gen. Sir Arthur Power Palmer Succeeds Gen. Sir William Lockhart The New York Times 17 January 1898
• Papers of Sir Ralph Oakden