Midshipman William A. Palmer was born and raised in Halifax and the son of a sergeant-major in the Royal Canadian Engineers. In January 1911, William joined the first class of the Royal Naval College of Canada. He graduated two years later at the top of his class of 19 students.
On August 4, 1914, Less than two weeks after war was declared, HMS Good Hope sailed into Halifax. Part of a squadron with HMS Monmouth and HMS Suffolk, the Good Hope was headed to South America to hunt for a specific German squadron that was sinking allied merchant ships. Short four midshipmen when it arrived, William and his classmate Arthur Silver were personally selected by Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock to join the Good Hope crew. Their classmates Malcolm Cann and John Hatheway were chosen by lottery for the two remaining spots.
They were sailing toward the Pacific to engage the German East Asiatic Squadron when the ship sunk with all hands at the Battle of Coronel off the coast of Chile on November 1, 1914. William and his classmates became the first Canadian casualties of the First World War and the first members of the Royal Canadian Navy to die in service.
Christian began working with the Royal Canadian Navy in 2010, which was Canada’s Naval Centennial. He offered to donate a sculpted bust of Admiral Sir Charles Kingsmill, known as the Father of the Royal Canadian Navy. The Royal Canadian Navy’s appreciation of this gift inspired Christian to donate a second bust in 2011. This one was of Chief Petty Officer Max Bernays, a Canadian navy hero from the Second World War
Other works by Christian Corbet include: Commander Adelaide Sinclair Bust, Rear-Admiral Leonard Warren Murray Bust, Vice Admiral Ralph Lucien Hennessy Bust and Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve Bust.
