Early Life
Palliser was the only son of Hugh Palliser and Mary Robinson. at Kirk Deighton, in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The family had estates in Yorkshire and Ireland. His parents died when he was still young, so he and his sisters were (probably) raised by relatives on his mother's side. He entered the navy in 1735 as a midshipman on HMS Aldborough commanded by his uncle Nicholas Robinson. He followed his uncle to HMS Kennington in 1737, and then to HMS Tiger and HMS Essex.
Palliser passed his lieutenant's examination on 12 May 1741 and was promoted to the rank on 18 September 1741. He continued to serve aboard Essex, at first under Robinson, and after he was superseded, under Captain Richard Norris, the son of Sir John Norris. On 3 July 1746 he was placed in command of HMS Weazel. On 25 November of that year he was appointed post-captain of HMS Captain, sailing for the West Indies with the broad pennant of Commodore Edward Legge. Legge died on 19 September 1747, and Palliser transferred to HMS Sutherland. Six months later an accidental fire in that ship's arms chest wounded Palliser; a ball entered his back and exited his groin; another ball struck his right hip; a third ball struck his left shoulder. Two men were killed in the explosion, and Palliser returned to England to recover. He recovered, though he remained lame in his left leg, and suffered perpetual and sometimes excruciating pain, to which his death was eventually attributed. He was appointed to the frigate HMS Sheerness in December 1748, and sailed her to the East Indies to bring the commanders there news of the peace. He was part of Edward Boscawen's squadron on the Coromandel coast from July 1749, returning to Britain to pay off Sheerness in April 1750. Palliser was next appointed to HMS Yarmouth, the guardship at Chatham. Shortly afterwards he was moved to the 20-gun HMS Seahorse, and while in that command he was arrested by Scottish authorities for refusing to let one of his seamen be taken from the ship on what turned out to be a forged letter of indenture. Palliser was held for several days in the Tolbooth Jail in Edinburgh until released by the Lords of Sessions, who invoked their authority to supersede that of the judge of the vice-admiralty court in Edinburgh.
In early 1753 Palliser was appointed captain of the 50-gun HMS Bristol, but soon afterwards was returned to a convoy consisting of Seahorse and Nightingale, to protect transports being used to move two British Army regiments to the Colonies to be used against the French forces there. He sailed in January 1755, but chose to sail far south of the usual route. Going as far south as the Tropic of Cancer, he avoided the usual stormy and rough crossing, which won him significant notoriety and praise from governmental authorities.
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