Less than two weeks after the Holy Roller was restored and put back in its place at Victoria Park, it was vandalized.
“We expected it but we didn't know exactly when it was going to happen,” says Ret. Sgt. Michael Procure of the 1st Hussars, who was part of the restoration team for the famous D-Day tank.
It happened during the day Saturday with members of the 1st Hussars in the park for a ceremony.
“The suspect took an angle grinder and just made some marks in the back deck,” says Procure.
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) “It was just behind the engine cover. You really can't see if your ground level but because we were we had people in the park yesterday for a ceremony, that's when they saw the person that was doing it.”
He says a police officer was patrolling the park and was notified. Procure says the London Police Service took the man into custody.
“We have the money and the funds available and obviously the crew to do it. It's just a matter of getting the time to do it,” says Procure.
The tank returned to the park May 31, 2022 after a restoration team at Fanshawe College helped bring it back to its original glory.
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) The damage comes just days after the city removed surveillance. There are plans in place for additional lighting, and potentially security cameras.
“The city provided security for the time it went back in on the 31st of May, until the D Day ceremonies last weekend,” says Procure.
“We had 24-hour security at that time and then after that, that we didn't have additional security, and that's when we figured it was going to happen.”
The restoration team will sand and paint the damage Tuesday afternoon.
Drone image of vandalism done to the Holy Roller in Victoria Park in London, Ont. (Courtesy Joe O’Neil) Drone image of vandalism done to the Holy Roller in Victoria Park in London, Ont. (Courtesy Joe O’Neil)
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