Remembering a Veteran—Lt. Clarence Palmer, Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve: Mystery Man of Gallipoli

The Distinguished Service Cross of the Great War,
Similar to That Awarded to the Subject of this Article,
Who–Being a Spy–Was Extraordinarily Camera Shy

India born Clarence Edward Stanhope Palmer was a Cambridge-educated reserve Naval officer, who was serving as a diplomatic vice-consul  in Çanakkale, Turkey, on the Dardanelles, as it became evident that Turkey intended to join the war on the side of the Central Powers. He unobtrusively transformed into an undercover operative and plotted the location of the minefields protecting the Narrows of the Dardanelles. When Turkey joined the war, Palmer was able to escape and deliver the map of the mines to the Royal Navy. His career as a spy, however, was not yet done.

After the unsuccessful naval attack of the Allied fleet on 18 March 1915, the Australian submarine E-15 was through the minefields at Dardanelles to attack the enemy's shipping.  Aboard, presumably, to help with navigating the straits–and apparently now on active duty with the Royal Navy–was Lt. Clarence Palmer. However, he was reportedly never in uniform, which suggests he was aboard for some unconventional mission. What that might have been is lost to the ages, because the E-15 ran aground. The boat was quickly attacked and disabled, and the crew captured. The Turks were surprised to discover one the men wasn't wearing a uniform or naval gear—Clarence Palmer.

The Damaged E-15 in Turkish Custody

Furthermore, they somehow found that Palmer could speak fluent Turkish. The Turks quite reasonable concluded that he was a spy and threatened him with execution. Things get a little cloudy from this point. Some sources, including a TV documentary, cite this account of what followed, although I cannot find any authoritative confirmation of it.  

Palmer then offered to give the Turks the details of the expected landing plan in exchange for his life, but he gave a misleading version of the plan. He told the Turks the main landing was going to be far to the north of Anzac Cove and Helles near a tiny village named Bulair. As the story goes, the German commander in charge of the Turkish forces, General Otto Liman von Sanders, kept 20,000 men in the north because he felt that is where the main landing would be  because he believed Palmer. [There are other good reasons why the main Allied landing would be in this area.]

Palmer survived the war in a Turkish prison camp. One confirmable detail supportive of the above account took place after his return to civilian life. In 1921, Palmer was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross for his role with submarine E-15, although there does not seem to be any citation with the specifics behind the award.

After the war, Palmer held a variety of diplomatic positions, including a special mission to Asia Minor in 1919, and service in the Department of Overseas Trade. He was appointed consul at Damascus in 1920 and transferred to Port Said in July 1924 until 1926, when he left to take up successive consularships at Benghazi, Tripoli, Tabriz, and Sarajevo, where he died on 16 May 1936. He was decorated for his role on E-15. His precise role regarding the Gallipoli landing went to the grave with him.