Born in Malaya to English parents, Toft played as a left-half during the 1956 Games. During the Japanese invasion of Malaya in 1942, he was separated from the rest of his family and missed the boat that took them to India and safety. The rest of the family had no knowledge of his fate during the occupation. Spending the war years in an orphanage, he went on join the police force and served during the Malayan Emergency of the 1950’s. After his parents died Toft was looked after by his eldest sister, Lily, who unknown to him was, by 1956, a resident of Melbourne. A casual spectator at the Malaya-Great Britain group match was her husband, Ted, who was shocked to see Gerald’s name in the match programme. As the teams came out, Ted ran on the pitch and the two men greeted each other in joyful celebration.
Malaya