Home to Victoria Park, London, Ontario for over 70 years, Canada’s Holy Roller will be receiving a facelift.

This summer, the Sherman tank will be hoisted by a crane and taken in for a complete overhaul. To date, approx. $80,000 has been raised to restore the tank, which was brought back from Europe after the Second World War and has been a landmark to London ever since.

“The support from the community has been just amazing. We have had over 300 donors,” said First Hussars retired Lt.-Col. Ian Haley. “It’s the stories — you realize how important the Holy Roller is both to the community and around the world.”

The lager was created by Toboggan Brewing in London, Ontario and Holy Roller Lager is now available at The LCBO. Holy Roller is one of only two such tanks remaining in Canada that survived the Second World War.

The brewery teamed up with The HOLY ROLLER Memorial to create a beer that will help fund the restoration of this Canadian Veteran. Proceeds from each beer will go towards the project, as well as towards Canadian Veteran organizations.

The official launch was Friday March 5th, but the product has been in select LCBO Ontario locations for several weeks to help raise money for the tank’s restoration.

“The history of the tank is really important,” said Toboggan’s Charlie Smith. “It’s a landmark everyone knows and has seen growing up but not a lot of people know about its history.”

Of the more than 350 tanks used in the war by the First Hussars, Holy Roller was the only survivor.

It’s also one of only two Canadian tanks — the other from Sherbrooke, Que. named the Bomb — that landed at Normandy and was still intact at the end of the war.

The tanks carried members of the First Hussars in the first wave to hit Juno Beach on June 6, 1944.

Photos courtesy of Toboggan Brewing and Wikimedia Commons