For the first time in more than 60 years, the Holy Roller, a centrepiece in London’s Victoria Park, has been opened.

The tank was unsealed for inspection by the First Hussars ­Association at the request of the City of London.

The vehicle is one of only two Canadian army tanks to have landed on the beaches of Normandy on ­D-Day and made it through to the end of the Second World War.



Holy Roller in Victoria Park, 1960. (London Free Press files)

“It went farther than anyone else that day (D-Day) — 10 miles inland,” said Lt.-Col. Joe Murray, president of the London First Hussars Association. “The boys from London and Sarnia and . . . across the country, but . . . mainly from Southwestern Ontario, were literally the tip of the spear for the free world.”

The tank was brought to London after the war in 1945 and displayed at Western Fair, from where the First Hussars left London during the war. In 1950, the tank was moved to Victoria Park, where it has sat, sealed, ever since.

Inside the tank was garbage, ­including needles, that had been stuffed through small openings. Some of the openings were ­created by rusting. The openings were welded shut after Tuesday’s ­assessment.

Winmar, a property restoration company, assisted in cleaning.

The First Hussars and the city will determine the Holy Roller’s future.

cpinkerton@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/CharlieAtLFP