Corporal Topham Victoria Cross Medal Set to Travel
Ottawa, Ont., June 24, 2005 — In a ceremony held last March 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.
In an effort to preserve the memory of Fred Topham, the Canadian War Museum is committed to working with the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion to bring the medal set to fellow Canadian museums and institutions, thereby ensuring that Corporal Fred Topham's story becomes known to Canadians across the country.
This rare medal set is scheduled to travel to three additional locations within the coming months. First, it will travel to the Ottawa Police Service 150th Tattoo. Hosted by the Ottawa Police Service Pipes and Drums, the 150th Anniversary Tattoo takes place on June 25 at the Ottawa Civic Centre, Lansdowne Park. The medal set will then travel to Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Petawawa, where it will go on display during the July 1 long weekend, as part of celebrations marking the Base's 100th anniversary and the opening of its new museum. The medals will next travel to Toronto as part of the Royal Canadian Military Institute's massed pipe band concert at Roy Thomson Hall, during the weekend of October 22–23, 2005. By the end of this year, the medal set will have been presented in four separate locations since its generous donation to the Canadian War Museum last March.
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 Topham V.C. medal set is currently showcased in Gallery 3 of the CWM's Permanent Exhibition, which covers 1931 to 1945. The medals ares on display in an area describing Canada's role during the final stages of the Second World War.
The stunning new Canadian War Museum is Canada's national museum of military history. Strategically located close to Parliament Hill in downtown Ottawa, it houses some of the finest military collections in the world, and offers a wide range of programmes and services for visitors of all ages. The Museum is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Thursdays until 9 p.m. Admission is free on Thursday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., and half-price all day Sunday.
For more information on the Ottawa Police Service 150th Tattoo, please visit their official Web site at: http://www.ottawapolice.ca/en/about_ops/anniversary/
For more information on the CFB Petawawa Centennial Celebration, please visit their official Web site at: http://www.army.dnd.ca/cfb_petawawa/centennial/
Information (media) :
Pierre Leduc
Communications Officer
Canadian War Museum
Phone: (819) 776-8608
E-mail: mailto:pierre.leduc@warmuseum.ca
Sylvie St-Louis
Communications Officer
Canadian War Museum
Phone: (819) 776-8636
E-mail: mailto:sylvie.st-louis@warmuseum.ca
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