Holy Roller once again whole
Members of the Hussars Regiment made repairs to the Holy Roller tank in Victoria Park Tuesday, after it was recently vandalized.
It left veterans — and those who worked tirelessly to restore the World War II relic — upset.
“I think it's heartbreaking. It's disgusting,” Lt.-Col (Ret.) Ian Haley said while watching the repairs take place.
“There's no need for it,” added Sgt. (Ret.) Gary Cambridge. “It's no different than going into a cemetery and kicking over grave stones.”
Haley and Cambridge were integral to the campaign aimed at restoring the tank to its original condition, but the repairs for vandalism fall on the Regiment.
"Since the tank has come back into the park, the part of the maintenance process falls onto the regiment's shoulders. They have the knowledge and they have the equipment to be able to do that now very rapid formation," he said.
The Holy Roller tank in Victoria Park in London, Ont was vandalized with an angle grinder on Saturday, June 11, 2022 (Brent Lale/CTV News London)A 44-year-old man has been charged after defacing the newly restored tank with a grinder, causing over $6,000 worth of damage.
"The encouraging part is somebody saw somebody reported it. So obviously, the Holy Roller is cared for, not only by us but by the citizens of London," Haley said.
People who showed up to watch the repairs wondered why more isn’t being done to protect it.
"We thought that it should be somewhere more equipped safer so that it wouldn't be vandalized as often,” said Kathleen Campbell, who wondered if the Sherman tank should be moved.
But that is an option that doesn’t sit well with Haley.
"It's meant to be a memorial to be seen in the public and appreciated by the public, so it's not going to get scared away if German Panzers couldn't do it. So one guy with a grinder isn't going to do it,” he said.
Increased security in the park, and other measures like cameras and better lighting are options the group would like to see to keep the tank from becoming a target for vandals.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.