After his retirement Grandpa & Granny enjoyed spending time with his family most Sunday's he would meet up with his sister in Westbury on Trym and her family But on the 24th Dec 1959 they were devastated, Joan their daughter who had move to Exeter had taken her daily injection of Insulin, but for some reason it hadn't worked so she took another injection this resulted in her going into a diabetic coma she was rushed to hospital but later died my grandparents cancelled Christmas I have no memory of her as I was only 3 & 1/2 The Lady Chapel in St Peter's Henleaze was fitted out in her memory On the 21st August 1960 his first granddaughter was born she was named Sheila Joan Palmer her middle name being in memory of dad's sister Dad that time was Vicar of St Andrews, Hartcliffe, Bristol, in 1968 we moved to Swindon when dad was made Vicar of Christ Church Swindon the first member to live outside Bristol in 300 hundred years on the 2nd Jan 1969 his wife Edna died the High Alter at St Peter's Henleaze was refitted in her memory. Meanwhile his grandson Martin had for his gap year gone to work in a children's home in Hong Kong it there that he met a young orphan called Yan Chi he decided that it would be nice if Dad & Mum adopted her which we did Yan Chi arrived Boxing Day 1973 Grandpa welcomed his second granddaughter he gave her a silver cross which she still has On the 27th Sept 1975 he witnessed his grandson Martin get married. This was followed on the 25th June 1978 with birth of James Richard Palmer his first Gt Grandson and on the 9th Dec 1980 Elizabeth Frances Palmer his first Gt Granddaughter

My Grandfather was very proud of dad when he was made Archdeacon of Rochester my parents used to have a 70'f narrow boat called Fulbourne we children spent most of our holidays on her they also rented it out our friends When he visited us in Rochester he saw the large rooms he gave Dad & Mum a large oil painting of a horse pulling a canal boat When dad was made Home Secretary to the Board of Mission & Unity in London it meant having to buy a house not easy when you are in your 50's Dad's job was to travel all over the country helping parishes setup ecumenical networks At the start of 1985 Dad received telephone call from Aunty Kitty to say that she had found Grandpa on the floor as he had failed to turn up for lunch and she had told the doctor to revive him Dad pointed out to her that as his son he was next of kin and should have been called at once, and that he should not have been revived Grandpa never went home some months later he was transferred to New Cote Care Home Dad was doing long hours Driving to parish from there to Bristol and back to London 25 Lawrence Grove was sold also the contents were also sold When in New Cote Grandpa asked for one picture showing a boat sailing into the wind which had been given to him by his father So Dad had to find out who bought it and buy it back (I still have it) just before he died he thought that he was back being chased by the Germans This upset dad very much and had to reassure him that he wasn't George Henry Palmer died 30th Oct 1985 the day after his 88th birthday With his death the Palmer's link 380 year link was broken