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.