1st Hussars and Holy Roller & Perry Kitson

[Ed Storey]

It is the same old story, we love this tank so much that we want to spend a small fortune to restore it only to once again stick it outside in a park to let the kids climb on it and the birds nest in it. I like Bruce's idea to have a fibreglass copy made to place in the park so that the original can be properly restored, but sadly that kind of progressive thinking usually does not come to mind by the people who organize these types of high-profile vanity projects.

[James P]

Waste of time and money to blow a wad of cash sandblasting and repainting to rededicate as a monument outdoors, maybe do a little ribbon cutting ceremony for the city mayor, then all march off to the mess for a hearty round of back patting. Total tear down, ground up, full on back to running condition RESTORATION with indoor display afterwards. The way Canadian governments at all levels are throwing money about these days the costs to do so would not even move the needle or be noticed.

[Michael R.]

assume

I am not convinced we are going in the right direction in our assumption as to what the plan is for this vehicle. Rather than making myself look more of an ass/u/me, I will wait for an update from the organization.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

I agree, ideally it should be restored and placed indoors.

But let’s be glad something is being done and young people are involved in various ways:

“Holy Roller tank preservation well underway”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/londo...rway-1.6123148

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“Fanshawe students Emma Wilson and Taylor Meloche are spending their summer creating a virtual reality tour of the inside of the Holy Roller. (Angela McInnes/CBC)”

And:
https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/...ia-park-return

[James P]

Wow, now there is a old face I was surprised to see, Peter Devlin has about as much military history as Holy Roller.................I still refuse to buy in that sticking it back outside next year to start rotting away again is such a bright idea. Tens of thousands of Shermans produced to fight in the Second World War but this one (and BOMB) are breathtakingly special and deserve better, much better then this.

[Ed Storey]

Like James, I am not convinced that this restoration project is on the right track. The sad part is that there appears to be some serious funding available to do a proper restoration job yet no-one seems to have any vision other to once again park a historic military vehicle outside when the project is completed.

I just watched the videos and wish that the those who produce them would realize that most people have no idea what the inside of a Sherman looks like and pointing to rusty bits essentially means nothing. Likewise fancy virtual reality imagery of a rusted out tank is meaningless without a baseline to compare to. Again, homework and research is everything and so far I am not seeing any of that. I still have the impression that this is essentially a vanity project for everyone involved to pad their Linkedin and Facebook accounts.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Via Jordan Baker, no date given.

London, Ontario, Canada when Holy Roller was delivered from NWE.

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