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Generations of kids have climbed on it and every D-Day anniversary, old soldiers shed tears over it.

Idle for decades, the Holy Roller, arguably London’s best-known military monument, is in the fight of its life and could fall apart within years if it doesn’t win its next battle.

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The big Sherman tank that stands guard in Victoria Park is so badly rusted the London regiment that brought it back from Europe after the Second World War says it needs a $120,000 repair job that will involve dismantling the 33-tonne behemoth and rebuilding it from the inside out.

Longer-term, the First Hussars – the regiment that used the tank to land on D-Day and drive the Germans back to Germany – are pondering whether to put an engine in it and get it running again for parades and other special occasions.

Right now, a new engine in the tank is still a pipe dream because of the $500,000 price tag that would come with it. But if the Holy Roller isn’t repaired soon, it will fall apart within 10 years, First Hussar officials say.