The son of Mr. W. “Harry” F. and Rhoda Tope of 57 Selkirk St., Chatham. He was born in Chatham and attended McKeough  Public School. For a time before he enlisted he was working at the Imperial Optical Co. The brother of Pte. Harry P.

The CDN 15/03/43(P) reported OS. Douglas J. Tope was serving aboard the corvette HMCS Regina which was credited with sinking an Italian submarine in the Mediterranean recently. He has been aboard the Regina since November of 1942.  

The CDN 18/08/44(P) reported that Douglas enlisted in March of 1942 at HMCS Hunter in Windsor. He was only in Windsor for a short time before going to Halifax.  In May of 1942 Douglas had completed his training and was on his way to the Easter depot of the RCN. CDN 18/05/42 He had been on active service for several months. He was last home on a 28 day leave in June of 1943.  

Douglas joined HMCS Regina K234 in October of that year. HMCS Regina was had been in many theatres of war. She was in North Africa and the Mediterranean. He was aboard during the invasion of France and operated in the Atlantic several times. 

He was assigned to the Western Local  Escort Force (WLEF). HMCS Regina rescued 25 

Previous Military Experience… None

HMCS Regina K234 was assigned to the Western Local  Escort Force (WLEF). HMCS Regina rescued 25 survivors from the American merchant ship the S.S. Alexander Macomb. From April to October 1942 HMCS Regina served as convoy escort operating out of Halifax, NS. and New York, NY. In November of 1942 she was part of “Operation Torch”, the invasion of North Africa. On the evening of 9/02/43 HMCS Regina attacked the Italian submarine ‘Avorion’, forcing her to surface but the sub sank while in tow. In 1944 Regina was part of “Operation Neptune” the naval part of the Normandy invasion.

On 8/08/1944 while trying to rescue sailors from the sinking merchant ship S. S. Ezra Weston the Regina was struck by a Gnat torpedo fired by U-667 and she sank in thirty seconds. One officer and twenty-seven men were lost. The Commander of HMCS Regina and sixty-five men were picked up by other Allied ships two of those men died of wounds. AB Tope suffered the ill effects of the loss of his ship and a few bruises received from the sudden lurching of the ship when she sank.     

The Mayor of Regina wrote to Douglas’ mother regarding the sinking of the “Regina”.

“Dear Mrs. Tope,

On behalf of the citizens of Regina and the city council. I wish to express to you and the members of your family, the joy we feel in the fact that your son Able Seaman Douglas Tope survived the sinking of HMCS Regina on August the 8^th last.

We are justly proud of the honour brought to us through the bravery and devotion to duty of the crew of this ship which bore the name of our city. Sixty-four men out of a total of ninety-four were rescued and while we mourn those who were lost we are happy to know that your son was among the survivors.

A complete list of the crew showing name, rank, number, date of birth and enlistment, together with the names and address of next of kin, has recently been received from the naval services at Ottawa and will be permanently preserved in the vaults of our city hall.

With kindest regards I am, your very sincerely. C. C. Williams, Mayor of Regina.”

In his last letter home, reported in the CDN 18/08/44 He had visited his grandfather William Tope in Plymouth, England. 

Date of Discharge August 1945.

Douglas passed away 10/01/95.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Awards	North Africa Star
Sources	IODE(P), CCI-RH, LM-LP

Age	born 1923
Birthplace	Chatham
Religion	United Church
Marital Status	Single
When Enlisted	March 1942
Next of Kin	Rhoda Tope (Mother)

---

Notice something wrong with this record? Or, do you have something to add? Report it using our online form.