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Grandpa Chuck the Peachland orchardist drives a tank through Italy

A grandchild of the subject of this historical Vancouver photo writes: "This is my grandpa, Chuck Topham. He left an orchard in Peachland to drive a tank through Italy. He never talked about it.

A grandchild of the subject of this historical Vancouver photo writes:

"This is my grandpa, Chuck Topham. He left an orchard in Peachland to drive a tank through Italy. He never talked about it. One of the only stories he ever told me was about the time his regiment got a delivery of new uniforms. He'd been wearing the same pants for weeks and couldn't wait to put them on. Just as he ducked behind his tank to change, a bomb fell. Many of his friends were killed. I don't know if this photo was taken before or after the war,but either way - great pair of pants, Chuck."

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The story behind the man who captured this photo? Well, from 1934 to 1979, street photographer Foncie Pulice set up his camera on Vancouver city sidewalks and snapped candid shots of people strolling by. For almost half a century, he took thousands of photos, unwittingly capturing moments in time, the history of a city, and the lives of British Columbians. Photo negatives of Foncie’s images do not exist. He destroyed most of them when he retired. Until recently there was no central archive or collection.

Documentary filmmaker Melanie Wood and British Columbia’s Knowledge Network changed that by bringing these photographs together – collecting them from albums around the province and giving them a public home online and in the film Foncie's Corner. The photos continue to stream in and Melanie shares them with us regularly so we can share them here on our blog.

This is a story about Vancouver, about British Columbia, and about it’s people... so they need your help. Visit Knowledge.ca/FonciesCorner to add your photos and stories to the collection.