He was 20 years old, and a Lance-Sergeant in the 22nd Battalion, The Royal Fusiliers,[1] British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 16/17 February 1917 north of Courcelette, France, Lance-Sergeant Palmer assumed command of his company when all his officers had become casualties.

Having cut his way under point-blank fire, through wire entanglements, he dislodged an enemy machine-gun and established a "block".

At this critical moment, although suffering from extreme exhaustion, he rallied his men, drove back the enemy and maintained his position.

After the outbreak of the Second World War, he returned to England in 1940, arriving just in time for the Battle of Britain, and re-joined the Royal Air Force.