Less than two weeks after the Holy Roller was restored and returned to its place in Victoria Park, it was vandalized.
“We were expecting it, but we didn’t know exactly when it would happen,” Ret says. Sgt. Michael Procure of the 1st Hussars, who was part of the restoration team of the famous D-Day tank.
He spent Saturday with members of the 1st Hussars in the park for a ceremony.
“The suspect grabbed an angle grinder and only made a few marks on the back deck,” Procure says.
Victoria Park’s Holy Roller Tank in London, Ont., Was vandalized with a corner sharpener on Saturday, June 11, 2022 (Brent Lale / CTV News London). at ground level, but since we were, we had people in the park yesterday for a ceremony, that’s when they saw the person doing it. “
He says a police officer was patrolling the park and was alerted. Procure says the London Police Service arrested the man.
“We have the money and the funds available, and obviously the crew to do it. It’s just a matter of having time to do it,” says Procure.
The tank returned to the park on May 21, 2022 after a restoration team at Fanshawe College helped it return to its original glory.
Victoria Park’s Holy Roller Tank in London, Ont., Was vandalized with a corner sharpener on Saturday, June 11, 2022 (Brent Lale / CTV News London). There are plans for additional lighting and potentially security cameras.
“The city provided security during the time it returned on May 31, until the D-Day ceremonies last weekend,” Procure says.
“At that time we had 24 hour security and then we didn’t have any extra security, and that’s when we thought it would happen.”
The restoration team will plunder and paint the damage on Tuesday afternoon.
Image of a vandalism drone on the Holy Roller at Victoria Park in London, Ont. (Courtesy of Joe O’Neil) Image of a vandalism drone at the Holy Roller in Victoria Park, London. (Courtesy of Joe O’Neil)