Londoners will gather Sunday to commemorate a historic military mission that led to the end of the Second World War.
The annual D-Day memorial parade will take place beginning at the Delta Armouries on Dundas Street around 10 a.m. Canadian Army Reservists from the 1st Hussars, joined by members of the 1st Hussars Association and cadets, will march from Dundas Street to Waterloo Street to Dufferin Avenue. The parade traditionally makes a short stop at London City Hall to allow for a wreath to be laid on a plaque that lists the names of fallen soldiers from the Second World War. It then continues onto Wellington Street to Central Avenue where it ends at the Holy Roller, the city’s restored Second World War monument.
The parade route will be marked by London police officers and residents are also encouraged to line the route.
Soldiers marching will be carrying unloaded weapons for “ceremonial purposes,” according to the Canadian Armed Forces.
The parade will be followed by a ceremony around the Holy Roller. That is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
In the lead up to the solemn occasion, the Canadian Armed Forces said the parade and memorial service is a “time to remember our fallen, and pay tribute to the London-based unit’s Regimental family.”
Tuesday marks the 79th anniversary of the D-Day landings. It was June 6, 1944 when Allied forces, including 14,000 Canadians, staged the invasion of Nazi-occupied France. The mission led to the end of the Second World War. Nearly 360 Canadian soldiers were killed on D-Day.
The Holy Roller itself landed with the 1st Hussars regiment in Normandy roughly 45 minutes after the first assault troops went in. Its gun was damaged two times during the war and was one of only two tanks to survive from D-Day to VE Day. It arrived back in Canada in May 1946 and was placed in Victoria Park in May 1956. It was removed in 2021 to undergo extensive restoration work before being returned to its concrete pedestal in the green space in time for last year’s D-Day commemorative events.
Several downtown streets will be closed from 8 a.m. to noon for Sunday’s parade and service.
