1st Canadian Parachute Battalion	First Special Service Force	Post War	The Canadian Airborne Regiment

1st Canadian Parachute Battalion

By 1942, the tide of war had begun to shift, and there was a need for offensive action. To meet this requirement, 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion was formed on 10 July 1942. Hundreds of eager young men joined the ranks of the Battalion, ready for action and to leave the shores of Canada for the battlefields of Europe.

Training began with a four-week course at Ft Benning, Georgia. It was tough, and some dropped out, returning to their units. Many more passed the arduous course and went on to complete their training in Britain at Carter Barracks and Bulford, where they were assigned to the 6th Airborne Division, 13th Parachute Brigade.

By May 1944, they were ready for combat. In the final year of the war, they saw action and proved themselves at the battlefields of Normandy, the Ardennes, Belgium and Holland and during the final, mad race to the Baltic where, on 2 May 1945, they met up with the Russians in the city of Wismar.

Their success was not without sacrifice. Hundreds of young men were killed or wounded. Among these was Cpl Topham, a medic assigned to the Battalion who, at the risk of his own life, rescued wounded soldiers and continued to do so even after being injured. For his actions during Op Varsity, he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Lieutenant-Colonel Nicklin, a former football player with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the commanding officer of the Battalion, was killed during that same operation.

On 21 June 1945 the Battalion, on board the Isle de France, landed at Halifax harbour. On 20 September 1945, the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion was disbanded.