1st Hussars and Holy Roller & Perry Kitson

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Bruce Parker

Is there any more information to determine if the money being spent matches the effort being expended? Is it a $250,000 paint job?

Compared with the €1,000,000 budget for the restoration of the Tiger tank at Vimoutiers, the Canadian quote sounds like a steal…

“Vimoutiers. Un million d'euros pour restaurer le char Tigre”
https://actu.fr/normandie/vimoutiers..._45432774.html

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[maple_leaf_eh]

Last week I was buying for my neighbourhood 'skeptic tank' meeting of likeminded gents, and look what I found!

[GaryC]

I've read over this thread and I agree with many that it is a disgrace on how HOLY ROLLER has been left. The markings on HOLY ROLLER were painted in Europe prior to it being shipped back to Canada. Canadian units were allowed by DND and or the Canadian government to send one item home as a "war trophy".

The question does stick out of why two squadron tac symbols on the turret. It does by one photo appear that is what was not the turret when it came out of the depot in Enschede. But again the question is why? Does anyone have an educated guess or direction of perhaps something 2 CAB allowed?

[Hanno Spoelstra]

From https://www.facebook.com/vintagelond...063660/?type=3

“ "Holy Roller", a Sherman tank used by the First Hussars Regiment during WWII, was presented to the City of London in 1950 and located at Queen's Park. This was a fitting location as many of the veterans who manned the tank had trained at the Queen's Park (Western Fair) location. In May 1956 the Holy Roller was relocated to the north end of Victoria Park, and it is currently (2022) undergoing preservation work.
In this photograph we see two youngsters, Teddy(3yrs) and Henry(4yrs) Telkowski, who lived on nearby Quebec Street, playing alongside the tank.

May 9, 1956

Western University Archives, London Free Press Negative Collection, courtesy of Mike Rice.”

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“This is the Queen's Park location, so it dates from 1950 to 1956.”

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[Hanno Spoelstra]

“Holy Roller set to return to Victoria Park”
https://london.ctvnews.ca/holy-rolle...park-1.5921850

[Ed Storey]

This project can only be summed up as an immense waste of time and money. To dedicate the resources to restoring and mitigating the decades of deterioration from outdoor display only to return the vehicle back to the park shows a complete lack of vision or appreciation of the historical significance for this vehicle. Someone needs to tell the people running this project that we no longer live in the 1950s and that outdoor display is the death knell for vehicles and equipment.

I wonder what happened to the tracks and roadwheels that got replaced, nothing like stripping away the original wartime pieces for new replacements....

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Ed Storey

I wonder what happened to the tracks and roadwheels that got replaced, nothing like stripping away the original wartime pieces for new replacements....

The originals are probably on a skid headed for the scrapper. And the new replacements are, unfortunately, no longer available for a running restoration.

I agree Ed, a missed opportunity and big disappointment.

[GaryC]

I've read through the thread and to those of you that have could have done better, well done you. Perry's statements are accurate and his passion is correct. What many fail to grasp were the variables we were up against. We didn't own the tank, no one wanted to make it a running tank, we could have very easily we made all the moving parts move, and to the time of the one CO who asked the question why don't we...NOTHING would have been done - zip nada. HOLY ROLLER is fortunate that there was a perfect storm (to a point). The volunteer force was 95% people with no military background and they gave up every Saturday and then some. A few businesses felt they needed to help the project. Overall the city doesn't care, the Regiment doesn't care and the Association cannot maintain HOLY ROLLER. So, we could have left it there to rot or do something. The CWM knew where and what HOLY ROLLER was. A complete travesty for it going back into the park, I agree. But if nothing else it made headlines, it got the attention of a few museums that showed interest (all of a sudden). So, money wasted? An argument that isn't worth it, we stopped the degradation for awhile, which gives us the time to try to save it, to move it to an appropriate location. That in my viewpoint is the CWM. So, the hard part is keeping the pressure on to move this national icon. If people are that concerned, start writing to the mayor of the city and put the facts on paper and continue to write. Me, I'm chipping away from the inside.