He was born in Aberdeen on 20 December 1890, the son of Robert Topping, a school inspector, and his wife, Robina Bayne.
His studies were interrupted by the First World War during which he served with the Royal Army Medical Corps in France, Gallipoli and Mesopotamia.
When demobbed in 1919 he decided to stay in the Middle East, and joined the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in Abadan as Senior Medical Officer.
He returned to Aberdeen in 1922 to pursue a Diploma in Public Health, which he gained in 1923 at the same time as receiving his doctorate (MD).
From 1930 to 1932 he made observations on maternal mortality and managed to halve the death rate, also doing much to address venereal disease in the area.