Robert Edward Palmer, O.B.E., died at a Tunbridge Wells nursing home on April 6th, 1944, at the age of 78.
He was born at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and in 1887 graduated as a Bachelor of Applied Science from McGill University, Montreal. He was then appointed draughtsman on structural steel work in Chicago and Omaha, U.S.A., and in the following year became assistant city engineer at Vancouver, B.C. From 1890 to 1898 he was in private practice at Vancouver, carrying out surveys, construction and exploration, for the last two years being associated with silver-lead mines at Slocan, B.C. Then followed two years during which he supervised various mines in British Columbia, and studied mining districts there and in the U.S.A., until in 1900 he was appointed chief mining engineer to the Rio Tinto Co., Ltd., in Spain, where he remained for 14 years. In 1914, Mr. Palmer returned to London as consulting mining engineer to the Rio Tinto Co., a post from which he retired in 1930.
From 1914 until 1936 he also conducted a private practice as consulting engineer, and during the 1914-18 war rendered valuable service with the Iron and Steel Department of the Ministry of Munitions, for which he was awarded the O.B.E. His publications included papers in the Transactions of the Institution on ‘Some observations on mining by the opencast or stripping method’ (Vol. 30) and ‘Notes on some ancient mine equipments and systems’ (Vol. 36).
Mr. Palmer was elected a Member of the Institution in 1907, and a Member of Council in 1921. He was a Vice-President from 1924 to 1926, and President during the session 1927-28. He retired from the Council in 1939, but was re-elected in November, 1941, and was still serving at the time of his death.
Dr. S.W. Smith writes: “The news of the death of Mr. Palmer will be received with the deepest regret by his wide circle of friends in the mining world, who had found in him a true friend and a lovable character. At McGill University he had as a friend and contemporary the late Dr. Kingston. After an active period of mining at Rossland, B.C., in the heyday of that camp at the turn of the century, came his long spell at Rio Tinto which brought him new friends and where he endeared himself to many young engineers who, under his kindly guidance and leadership, received their introduction to the profession. In later years, in London, he gave much of his valuable time to the welfare of the Institution in which he always displayed a zealous and loyal interest.
After the usual ten years’ ex-officio membership of the Council as Past-President, he had the unique experience of being re-elected by ballot, a circumstance which gave him unfeigned pleasure. The loss of his only son, Mr. Charles Palmer, also a Member of the Institution, while flying home from important mining work in Turkey in 1942, was a grievous blow to him from which he had really never recovered.
Vol. 54, Trans I.M.M., 1944-45, pp.273-4
