After a nearly year-long makeover, an iconic piece of Second World War history is about to make its much anticipated return to Victoria Park.
The Holy Roller, one of only two Canadian Sherman III tanks to survive the war, will be placed back on its concrete pedestal in the downtown green space on Tuesday. It has been at Fanshawe College since last June where volunteers spent thousands of hours and over $150,000 restoring it to its former glory.
Preservation Project Team historian and technical advisor Steve Hearn said when the idea of repairing the Holy Roller first came about no one realized just how much of a toll the elements had taken on the machine turned monument.
“It’s a tank, it’s made out of two inches of steel, what could be wrong with it? Well, when they originally put it into the park they left a lot of openings in it allowing water to get it. So it was in very poor condition,” said Hearn.
The Holy Roller was part of the invasion of Nazi-occupied France by Allied forces on D-Day. It landed with the 1st Hussars regiment in Normandy roughly 20 minutes after the first assault troops went in. Despite its gun being damaged twice during the war, the Holy Roller survived 14 major battles and outlasted 346 other tanks.
“Four officers commanding B Squadron in Holy Roller were actually wounded and invalided out of the war but nobody died [in the Holy Roller]. So Holy Roller protected them,” said Hearn. “You can see on the tank itself a lot of battle damage.”
The tank arrived back in Canada in May 1946 and was presented to the City of London in June 1949 to commemorate the sacrifice made by members of the 1st Hussars during the Second World War. It was permanently placed in Victoria Park in May of 1956. That is where it sat until June 8, 2021 when it was loaded onto a flatbed truck and taken to the college.
There it was disassembled, parts were refurbished or replaced and the body was sandblasted and repainted. There were even a few unique finds inside.
“One day we were moving garbage out and a bag ripped and this big coin flopped out on the ground,” said Senior Technical Advisor James McNeil. ” It was a British two-pence coin from 1796 and we all asked where did that come from and how did it get there?”
He hypothesized that the coin may have been a crew member’s good luck charm.
“We’re still looking into it. But it might be a while before we find out cause there is no one to ask,” added McNeil.
In a surprise for those who gathered to see the finished work of the preservation project team on Monday, the Holy Roller rolled out of a hanger under its own power. It’s engine roaring.
“This is the most exciting thing I’ve ever done. It was quite the experience and it is something I will always remember,” said McNeil.
More than 50 students from Fanshawe’s welding and auto body repair programs assisted with the restoration work.
“Welding students from the St. Thomas-Elgin region campus removing stubborn bolts, auto body, truck and coach students taking apart the transmission, and broadcasting students documenting the progress including a 3-D experience,” said Fanshawe College President Peter Devlin. “The dedicated volunteers and partners rallying around this project have not only preserved a tank, they have preserved an important part of Canadian history for future generations, spreading awareness of the sacrifices of the past.”
The Holy Roller will once again travel by flatbed truck on Tuesday. This time to be placed back in its spot in Victoria Park. A crane is being brought in to lift the tank from the truck back onto its base. Central Avenue between Richmond Street and Wellington Street will be closed between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. to allow for this to happen. A rededication ceremony and annual D-Day parade will be held in the park this weekend.
