He trained in Canada with the battalion which, in the summer of 1943, was sent to England where it became part of Brigadier James Hill's 3rd Parachute Brigade of the British 6th Airborne Division, commanded by Major General Richard Gale.

In the early hours of June 6, 1944 (now known as D-Day) Topham's battalion dropped into Normandy (see Operation Tonga) as part of Operation Overlord and, after being engaged in heavy fighting, during which time the battalion sustained heavy losses, spent the next two months on the defensive (contrary to what the airborne troops had been trained for) before pursuing the retreat German forces to the River Seine (see 6th Airborne Division advance to the River Seine).

[4] In December the division, now commanded by Major General Eric Bols, was sent to Belgium where it played a relatively minor role in the Battle of the Bulge.

On 24th March, 1945, Corporal Topham, a medical orderly, parachuted with his Battalion on to a strongly defended area east of the Rhine.

Having completed immediate first aid, he carried the wounded man steadily and slowly back through continuous fire to the shelter of a wood.

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.

[6]Topham's heroism was acknowledged publicly 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.

Topham died on May 31, 1974, from a heart attack, in the Borough of York and is buried at Sanctuary Park Cemetery, Etobicoke, Canada.

The Ontario Heritage Foundation, erected a plaque at the Etobicoke Civic Centre in 1980 commemorating Corporal Frederick Topham, V.C.

It features three ball diamonds, two lit tennis courts, a wading pool, a children's playground, and the Topham Park Community Centre and Clubhouse.