Holy Roller is a Canadian Army M4A2 Sherman tank of the 6th Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars) which landed at D-Day and fought across northwest Europe until the end of the Second World War in Europe, one of two Canadian tanks that fought from D-Day to VE Day. [1] Holy Roller is on display as a memorial in Victoria Park, London, Ontario.
Holy Roller was built at General Motors' Fisher Tank Arsenal in Flint, Michigan, in the last week of September 1942. It is an M4A2(75) model with serial number 7606 and U.S. registration number 3062855. It was shipped to England, where it was issued with the War Department number CT-152655. [2] It was not until late May/early June 1944 that it was issued to the 6th Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars), just before D-Day.
Holy Roller landed with the 6th Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars) at Juno Beach, crewed by William Reed, George LeGrand, Frank White, Frank Fowler (who coined the name "Holy Roller"), Terry Doherty and Everett Smith. [3] It served throughout the North-West Europe Campaign in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and into Germany.
Holy Roller was one of four Canadian tanks shipped from service in northwestern Europe to preservation in Canada, along with Forceful III in Ottawa and Bomb in Sherbrooke, Quebec. The tank was placed on display outside the London Armouries on Dundas Street, then moved to Queens Park at the Western Fairgrounds before finally being moved to its current location in Victoria Park. [4]
In early 2021, the Royal Canadian Legion and a local craft brewer launched a campaign to raise CA$250,000 to finance a year-long restoration of the tank. The plans call for the tank to be removed from its Victoria Park site and disassembled, with parts being restored, repaired, or replaced as necessary, before being returned to the park in time for the 78th anniversary of D-Day on June 6, 2022. The Toboggan Brewing Company created Holy Roller Lager to support the campaign, contributing a portion of sales of cases of the beer to the project. [5]
The refurbished tank was returned to Victoria Park and hoisted onto a new concrete pad on May 31, 2022. [6]
The 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the Canadian Army that saw active service during World War II. The brigade was composed of the 6th, 10th and 27th Canadian Armoured regiments and saw service in northwest Europe, landing in Normandy on D-Day and remaining in combat up to Victory in Europe Day.
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The 5th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army responsible for the command and mobilization of most army units in the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador; as well as some units in Kingston, Ontario. The division is recognized by the distinctive maroon patch worn on the sleeve of its soldiers.
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The 30th Armoured Brigade was an armoured formation of the British Army that served in Western Europe Campaign as part of the 79th Armoured Division. After the reformation of the Territorial Army in 1947, the brigade was re-created within the Territorials based in Scotland and finally disbanded by 1967.
The 27th Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army that served in the Second World War and played a crucial role in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 and the following Battle of Normandy until disbandment in late 1944.
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The East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry was a unit of the British Army formed in 1902. Units of Yeomanry Cavalry were raised in the East Riding of Yorkshire in the 18th and early 19th centuries at times of national emergency: the Jacobite Rising of 1745, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. These were stood down once each emergency was over. The East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry, was established in 1902, and this saw action during the First World War both in the mounted role and as machine gunners.
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Bomb is a preserved M4 Sherman tank. It was used by the Canadian Army 27th Armoured Regiment which landed in France on 6 June and fought across northwest Europe until the end of World War II. It was one of the few Canadian tanks that fought without interruption from D-Day to VE Day.