Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Edward William Eustace Palmes (23 August 1884 – 31 March 1961) was an English international

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

player.The Times 4/02/1961, page 12

Early life

Palmes came from an

aristocratic Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

family of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. He was the son of Major Guy St. Maur Palmes, Justice of the Peace of Lingcroft and

Naburn Naburn is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the eastern side of the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse about south of York. According to ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and Georgina Rosabelle Lloyd, the daughter of Edward Lloyd. He was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: New Zealand * Wellington College, Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington College of Education, now the Faculty of Education of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington Girls' College, Wellington, N ...

and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

. He was then commissioned into the

10th Royal Hussars The 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the World War I, First World War and World War II, Sec ...

Polo

He was a member of the polo team that won the inter-regimental polo tournament in India in six consecutive years (1907–12). In 1913 he was a member of the

Quidnuncs Cambridge University Cricket Club, established in 1820, is the representative cricket club for students of the University of Cambridge. The club was recognised as holding first-class status until 2020. The university played List A cricket in 1 ...

team, which won the Champion, Whitney, and Coronation Cups. He was a 9 handicap player and reached the final of the Khadir Cup in 1910. He played for Count J de Madre's Tiger team.

Military

Palmes served between 1914 and 1918 in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

with the

and was wounded twice. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

"for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He assumed command of the regiment under very difficult circumstances and organised the defence of his position. He showed great courage and ability under very heavy fire, and on relief volunteered to hold his posts for a further twenty-four hours, which he did with two of his squadrons".The London Gazetta Supplement

Personal life

He was noted for being a very good game shot. Palmes was an active and involved commander in the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting ...

battalion of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

References

External links

Polo in the United States: A History - Horace A. Laffaye, Dennis JBurkes Peerage - PALMES of NABURN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmes, Billie 1884 births 1961 deaths English polo players British Army personnel of World War I British Home Guard officers 10th Royal Hussars officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Sportspeople from Yorkshire