Sir Herbert Richmond Palmer KCMG CBE (20 April 1877 – 22 May 1958) was an English barrister, who became a colonial supervisor for Britain during the inter-World War period.

Palmer was a staunch advocate of the principles of Indirect Rule or devolved colonial administration which had been devised by Lugard and his successors in the government of Northern Nigeria.

It greatly enhanced the prestige and influence of the traditional Muslim emirs and contributed to the rapid spread of Islam during the colonial era.

The position of the Emirs was supported by Palmer and he strongly opposed the work of Christian missionaries, for example in Borno, contrary to the views of the governor, Sir Hugh Clifford.

By the end of 1917 some 6,600 troops had been dispatched to East Africa to take part in the operations against Von Lettow's forces, and a further 1,800 were awaiting transport – a serious depletion of the garrison of the country.

[1] Palmer carefully considered the effects of the War on the Muslim provinces and was highly critical of the French Administration in their colony nearby.

Throughout the Northern Nigeria Protectorate there were then thousands of Muslim schools in which practically the entire time of the pupils was occupied in learning by heart and in writing portions of the Koran.

This visit bore fruit when a training college for Muslim teachers was opened in 1922 at Katsina and attracted a promising number of candidates.

He was a first class administrator described as "capax imperii", capable of (ruling the) Empire, with his understanding and study of languages[9] and was referred to locally as "Judgey", being the highest judicial authority.

Another important event was the journey undertaken by Palmer from Lagos to Lake Chad in March and April, this being the first occasion on which the entire distance had been traversed by motor transport.

[1] During the 26 years spent by Palmer in various part of Northern Nigeria much of his leisure was occupied in attempts to find data for the completion of a true history of the more important units of ruling races, such as the Fulbe and Kanuri of Borno.

In this colony he was naturally faced with problems on a smaller scale than in the vast territories of Northern Nigeria, but in 1931 he was called upon to deal with a serious outbreak of rinderpest and pleuropneumonia among the native cattle.

Cyprus had been annexed by Britain when the Ottoman Empire joined with Germany and Austro-Hungary in World War I and, in 1925, had become a British Crown Colony.

He also arrived in the middle of a two years' drought which brought the Cypriots to the brink of famine, destroyed a great proportion of their crops and livestock, and added to their heavy burden of debt.

One of the causes was failure of Colonial officials in too many cases to learn Greek or Turkish, the languages of the island, and of their consequent lack of touch with the inhabitants.

In July 1940, after his family were evacuated to the United States of America, he went to live in Keswick to practice as a barrister in Liverpool and on the Northern Circuit providing legal aid.

He also contributed to anthropological journals: He married Margaret Isabel Smith of Goldings on 7 June 1924 at St Michael and All Angels in Waterford, the Archbishop of York Cosmo Gordon Lang officiating.