A plaque of Etobicoke war hero and Victoria Cross recipient George Topham stood for many years outside the former Etobicoke Civic Centre.
Corporal Topham, 27, was a Medical Orderly in the Canadian Army’s 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion from 1942 to 1945 during the Second World War when he watched two colleagues shot to death by enemy fire while saving a man in the battlefield. He promptly jumped in to save the soldiers.
Topham’s battalion gained the distinction of being the only Canadian Army unit to fight in the battle. During Operation Varsity, the Western Allies’ attempted to cross the River Rhine on March 24, 1945, and encountered heavy enemy fire as they took casualties.
“Corporal Topham went forward through intense fire to replace the orderlies who had been killed before his eyes,” according to military records. “As he worked on the wounded man, he was himself shot through the nose.”
Despite ‘severe bleeding and intense pain, he never faltered in his task,” the military wrote. “He carried the wounded man steadily and slowly back through continuous fire.”
Corporal Topam in a Canadian military promotional photo.
As if that was not enough. While returning to his company, he saved three men by rescuing them from a burning carrier that was in danger of exploding.
The carrier had taken a direct hit and enemy mortar bombs were still dropping. The vehicle was burning fiercely and its own mortar ammunition was exploding. An experienced officer on the spot had warned all not to approach the carrier.
Topham went out alone in spite of the blasting ammunition and enemy fire, and rescued the three occupants of the carrier. One man died. He brought them back and arranged for their evacuation.
For six hours Topham refused medical help for his wound and worked hard to bring in wounded, showing complete disregard for the heavy and accurate enemy fire. It was only when all casualties had been cleared that he consented to his own wound being treated.
For his exceptional and courageous deeds, Topham was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for valor in the British Commonwealth.
“This N.C.O. showed sustained gallantry of the highest order,” according to the Victoria Cross. “For six hours, most of the time in great pain, he performed a series of acts of outstanding bravery and his magnificent and selfless courage inspired all those who witnessed it.”
Topham’s heroism was celebrated with a parade and civic reception in Toronto on August 8, 1945; one hundred members of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion served as a guard of honour.
After the war in November 10, 1945, the war hero laid the cornerstone of the new Sunnybrook Memorial Hospital for Veterans. He served briefly as a Constable with the Toronto Police Department before a career with Toronto Hydro.
He died on May 31, 1974 from a heart attack, and is buried at Etobicoke’s Sanctuary Park Cemetery.
The Ontario Heritage Foundation erected a plaque at the Civic Centre in 1980 commemorating Corporal Topham, V.C. This plaque has since been erected outside Runnymede College Institute.
A park near St. Clair Avenue East and O’Connor Drive was named for Topham. It features three ball diamonds, two lit tennis courts, a wading pool, a children’s playground and the Topham Park Community Centre and Clubhouse.