Toby Graham

Toby Graham was born into a family steeped in military tradition and followed this tradition by commanding an anti-aircraft battery at the Battle of Narvik during the early days of World War Two. He was a combatant in the some of the most famous battles of the war including the Battles of Britain and Tobruk and spent time as a prisoner of war in Italy. After being freed when Italy switched to the allied cause Graham returned to active service and was wounded during the allied advance on Germany. For his bravery in continuing to command his men after being struck by shrapnel #he was awarded the Military Cross. At the end of hostilities Graham was stationed in Germany with the British Army of the Rhine and was able to use his time to practice his cross country skiing. He was part of the British ski team for the 1956 Winter Games at Cortina where he finished 29th of 30 finishers in the gruelling 50 km event. He later emigrated to Canada where, after earning a degree and a doctorate in history, he became a professor at the University of New Brunswick and the author of a number of scholarly books on military history.