supply of Tobruk by Palmer and others was known as the "Ferry Service". There are slight differences in accounts of how his ship was captured, with one source saying the Italians "trapped him by a ruse", and the other saying the Germans "kidded him" to make landfall in their territory. Regardless, Palmer and his crew became prisoners of war in Italy. He was well liked in the POW camps and always had a positive effect on his companions. CNRRA Incident Palmer was accused of embezzlement while working as marine superintendent of waterways transport for the Chinese National Relief and Rehabilitation Administration in 1947. He was convicted and sentenced to one year hard labour, but the conviction was overturned on appeal. Later life Palmer and his wife flew from Florida to Australia to attend a Rats of Tobruk reunion in 1977, where around 600 veterans marched through Sydney streets. Autobiography Pedlar Palmer of Tobruk (1981) Canberra, Australia: Roebuck Society. The Pirate of Tobruk: a sailor's life on the Seven Seas, with Mary E. Curtis (1994), Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. . References 1899 births 1993 deaths Members of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Navy personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Australian people of American descent