THOSE who knew him or, at least, knew of him, will have been saddened by the sudden death of Sheriff Charles William ''Bill'' Palmer on March 29.

Sheriff Palmer's background indicated a rather unorthodox route to the Bench. Educated at Inverness Royal Academy, he became involved in banking, then he became a policeman, before graduating in law at Edinburgh University.

He joined the leading law firm of Allan McDougall & Co, SSC, becoming a partner in 1975, where he honed his skills in litigation. He was appointed a temporary sheriff in 1984 and then served as sheriff at Dunoon and Dumbarton between 1986 and 1992, before moving to his last appointment at Dunfermline, until his unexpectedly early death at the age of 54.

Sheriff Palmer was something of an extrovert: his views on any topic under the sun were always absolutely positive - even if not universally applauded - but he was a particularly kindly and cheerful soul, often seen with a pair of lethargic and ill-disciplined spaniels.

He presided over some interesting cases during his time in Dunoon, including those fatal accident inquiries involving the loss of two female divers in Loch Striven and the death of a climber in the hills above the Rest-and-Be-Thankful.

In dealing with his usual criminal roll, Sheriff Palmer was not noted for the severity of his sentencing. Rather, he was inclined to make the punishment fit the crime and to take trouble to explain to the offender why he was taking a particular line.

So far as his civil jurisdiction was concerned, his knowledge of the legal practitioners at the bar of his court was comprehensive and, on occasion, if a cause was becoming stale and protracted, he would administer a rebuke, always mollified by a twinkle in his eye to disguise the merest hint of menace. Last year at Dunfermline he ticked off a 27-year-old solicitor for appearing in court in an outfit which didn't quite cover her midriff.

Bill Palmer, though shadowed by a congenital heart condition, was a man of boundless energy. He walked his reluctant dogs, climbed mountains, and played tennis. He had a sports car which he was inclined to drive rather too fast for a sheriff, especially in his own sheriffdom. Among his attributes, he was an excellent chef and a particularly kindly and generous host.

After the briefest possible interval following a heart by-pass operation, he leapt on his bicycle and pedalled from Land's End to John O'Groats to raise #36,000 for the British Heart Foundation. A year later, with his son Richard as co-driver, he repeated the journey, this time by car, driving non-stop and raised a further #1000 for charity. This was his particular and defiant style.

Bill is survived by his widow, Rosie, and his three children, Richard, Vinny, and Emily.