Fred Topham’s Victoria Cross donated to the Canadian War Museum
March 24, 2005 — Hamilton, Ontario — In a ceremony held today at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton Ontario, medals belonging to the late Corporal Fred Topham, who passed away in Toronto in May 1974, were donated to the Canadian War Museum by the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion. This important donation, which includes Topham’s Victoria Cross, was made possible through a successful fundraising campaign spearheaded by the Battalion.
On March 24, 1945, the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion was dropped on the eastern banks of the Rhine. Shortly after the drop, the unarmed Fred Topham was tending to casualties as a medical orderly, when he noticed that two orderlies from an ambulance unit had been killed while treating a wounded man. Without hesitation, Topham went to help the wounded man, replacing the orderlies who had just been killed. While he was administering first aid amidst the bodies of his comrades, Topham was shot through the nose. Despite heavy bleeding and intense pain, Topham continued to provide aid to the wounded man, then carried him to safety.
Rather than seek immediate medical aid himself, Topham continued to bring in other wounded men for the next two hours, under continuous heavy fire from the enemy. He eventually agreed to have his wound attended to, but refused to be evacuated when ordered. He then set out to rejoin his company and, on the way, encountered a burning armoured Bren carrier that had received a direct enemy hit. The carrier included three wounded men who were in danger of being killed or burned to death, as the carrier’s mortar rounds exploded around them. Topham went out alone, through enemy fire, and successfully brought all three men to safety. One of the three soon died, but Topham arranged for the medical evacuation of the two survivors.
“The human side of war is what the Canadian War Museum is all about,” said Joe Geurts, Director and CEO of the Canadian War Museum. “Among the most stirring stories we share are the ones related to the courage and spirit of Canada’s Victoria Cross recipients. With the help of important donations such as the medal set belonging to Corporal Fred Topham, history comes to life as we present the human drama behind the artifacts. This medal set will have particular resonance for our visitors, as many Canadians have become aware of this story due to media coverage surrounding the fundraising campaign.”
Jan de Vries, President of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion Association, said, “I am very grateful for the donations made by so many Canadians. Their generosity has made this fundraising campaign so successful that Fred Topham’s Victoria Cross, his story and the role of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion in liberating Europe, will be preserved and shared with Canadians for years to come.”
The Corporal Topham, V.C. medal set consists of the Victoria Cross, the 1939–1945 Star, the France & Germany Star, the Defence Medal, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Overseas Bar, the British War Medal 1939–1945, the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal 1953, and the Canadian Centennial Medal 1967. The Victoria Cross is the British Empire’s highest military honour, and was awarded to 94 Canadians from the nineteenth century to the end of the Second World War. Since that time, Canada has had its own military awards, including a Canadian version of the Victoria Cross, established in 1993.
Fred Topham will be showcased in Gallery 3 of the permanent exhibition, covering the years 1931 to 1945 at the new Canadian War Museum. His Victoria Cross medal group will be on display in an area devoted to telling his and Canada’s role in the final stages of the Second World War.
The new Canadian War Museum will open to the public on the weekend of May 7 & 8, 2005.
Information (media) :
Christina Selin
Senior Media Relations Officer
Canadian War Museum
Telephone: (819) 776-8607
Cellphone: (613) 371-4402
Fax: (819) 776-8623
E-mail: mailto:christina.selin@warmuseum.ca
Pierre Leduc
Communications Officer
Canadian War Museum
Phone: (819) 776-8608
E-mail: mailto:pierre.leduc@warmuseum.ca
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