Private Reginald John Topp

1. Private (Army). 1919-01-15 to 1919-05-02
2. Private, 75th Battalion, Infantry (Army). 1916-12-05 to 1919-01-15
3. Private (Army). 1916-10-18 to 1916-12-05
4. Private, 198th Battalion, Infantry (Army). 1916-09-30 to 1916-10-18
5. Private (Army). 1916-02-24 to 1916-09-30

Pte. R. J. Topp was taken prisoner at Vimy Ridge on April 9th, 1917. He had been wounded. Numerous articles appeared in his local newspaper as there was some confusion in the casualty lists which suggested that he was missing and presumed died.

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Article in the Toronto Star - May 9th, 1917:

CHUMS REPORTED MISSING

Ptes. J. S. Day and R. J. Topp Missing Since Vimy Ridge Battle.

Ptes. John S. Day and Reginald J. Topp, who have been close pals since they went to the front last October with a Toronto unit, are both reported missing since April 9th. Pte. Day, whose parents reside at 13 Howard street, is only nineteen, and was formerly employed in the mail order department in Eaton's. With his companion he has been in the trenches for three months. He has a brother, Harry, with a Toronto unit in England.

Pte. Topp was only 18 years old when he enlisted. In his last letter, received on Monday, he stated he had been in the trenches eight days previous to April 3. Pte. Topp was one of the Rose Avenue School and St. Simon's group. He belonged to St. Simon's hockey and lacrosse juvenile champion teams in 1915, and was for several years in St. Simon's choir. His father has two brothers and a nephew in the Imperial Army, while several cousins of his mother are with the Canadians overseas.

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Article in the Toronto Star - May 19th, 1917

KILLED AT VIMY RIDGE

It has not been ascertained officially that Pte. R. J. Topp, reported missing after Vimy Ridge, April 9, made the supreme sacrifice during that great victory. His parents at 149 Rose avenue have been notified of his death. The young soldier, who was but 18 when he enlisted, signed up with a group of pals from the Young Men's Club of St. Simon's Church with the 201st Battalion. Upon the breaking up of that unit they went in drafts to various battalions at the front. Of the group of lads who enlisted together but two remain. He received his education at Rose avenue school, and before enlistment was a member of the office staff of the E. L. Ruddy Company.

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Article in the Toronto Star, June 13th, 1917:

FOUND IN PRISON CAMP

Pte. Topp Reported Killed, Now Prisoner in Germany

The sorrow and grief of a month of mourning was lifted when Mr. F. G. Topp, of 149 Rose avenue, received two cables from England stating that his son, Pte. Reg. J. Topp, officially reported killed in action, was a prisoner in Germany. Pte. Topp was reported missing May 8. Ten days later Ottawa said he had been killed. Following this, apparently conclusive evidence was furnished by the chaplain of the battalion, who wrote that he had seen the body of Pte. Topp, and that it had been buried. Nothing more was heard until yesterday when the cablegram "Letters from Reg. Prisoner in Germany," from a relative in England was received. Pte. Topp was one of a group of St. Simon's Church boys, who went overseas last October with the battalion commanded by Lieut.-Col. LeGrand Reed. He had been in the trenches about 18 days when taken prisoner.

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Casualty Listing in the Toronto Star - July 3, 1917:

PRISONER

228095 Topp, R. J. 149 Rose ave. (Previously reported killed in action.)

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Article in the Toronto Star, July 10th, 1917:

SEND FALSE DESPATCHES

Ottawa Maintains Pte. Topp is Dead, Although Parents Receive Letters from Him.

In spite of the fact that Mr. and Mrs. F. G. Topp, 149 Rose avenue, have received two letters from their son, Pte. R. J. Topp, stating that he is a prisoner in Germany, Ottawa persists in sending telegrams that he was killed at Vimy Ridge. In his letters to his parents Pte. Topp tells how he was wounded and taken prisoner. He says: "When we went over the top on Easter Monday morning I was wounded in the left shoulder. When our men retreated a little during a German counter-attack I was taken prisoner. A German stretcher-bearer dressed my wounds, and finally we reached Ba?bara Hospital. We are getting better meals here, viz., potatoes, macaroni, one piece of meat for dinner, with coffee and bread two or three times a day. There are eleven of us in this ward, six Englishmen, two Newfoundlanders, and three Canadians. Pte. Topp was a member of St. Simon's Church, going overseas with Lt.-Col. LeGrand Reed's battalion last October. He had been in the trenches but eighteen days when he was taken prisoner.

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Article in the Toronto Star, July 12th, 1917:

PTE. R. J. TOPP A PRISONER

Mr. and Mrs. F. G. Topp, 149 Rose avenue, have received a telegram from Ottawa that their son, Pte. R. J. Topp, is a prisoner in Dusseldorf, Germany, suffering from gunshot wound in the left shoulder. The report in last night's Star that telegrams have lately been received from Ottawa stating that PTe. Topp was still missing was somewhat misleading. It was a letter which contained the information and not the official telegram.

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Researched by: M. I. Pirie

Further information: imagesofcanada @ hotmail.com

Source (jayelbee additions): LAC files