'Symbol of Charleswood': Winnipeg legion raising funds to conserve iconic tank
Charleswood Legion 100 is raising money to maintain an iconic symbol of its neighbourhood, while honouring Canadian veterans.
The legion is home to a Second World War-era Sherman tank that was built in 1945 by the Fisher Tank Division of General Motors in Detroit, Mich.
"It's probably the symbol of Charleswood that most people would recognize first,” said Tom Crew, chairman of the Charleswood Legion.
It was refurbished in 2021, and sits in front of the legion on Roblin Boulevard.
To raise funds for the tank's conservation, as well as a nearby war memorial, the legion is building a memorial wall.
Crew says it will be covered with plaques bearing the rank, name, unit and years of service of someone who served in the Canadian Armed Forces.
"A number of people from the legion and the community have asked for us to come up with a way that we could honour our fathers, grandfathers, other people that served in the military,” Crew said.
“We came up with the idea of having a memorial wall where they could memorialize their relatives, friends, etcetera and at the same time, raise money for the maintenance of the tank."
Charleswood Legion 100 chairman Tom Crew is pictured with the organization's Sherman tank on Feb. 20, 2024. (Source: Jamie Dowsett/CTV News Winnipeg)
The legion plans to sell 100 memorial plaques at $125 a pop. They will be attached to a large, wall-mounted stainless steel plate.
Crew says although the tank is a symbol of the Second World War, veterans from many different eras and conflicts can be honoured on the wall.
Tank bears marking of Fort Garry Horse
The tank has particular significance, Crew says, as it came from the Fort Garry Horse, a unit formed in Winnipeg in 1912. The regiment was mobilized in the First World War, going east to Quebec, and eventually to France and Belgium.
During the Second World War, the unit trained in England and was among the first to land in Normandy on D-Day in 1944.
Len Van Roon, who at 102 years old is the Charleswood Legion’s oldest living veteran, served in the Second World War and has distinct memories of Sherman tanks.
“He used to sleep in that tank in the evenings, not during the day when it was being used, but it was the safest place to be at night,” Crew said.
“It’s stories like that that sort of bring home the meaning of the tank for a lot of people.”
Anyone interested in contributing to the memorial wall is asked to contact the Charleswood Legion.
The Second World War-era Sherman tank is pictured on Feb. 20, 2024. It bears the marking of the Fort Garry Horse, a unit formed in Winnipeg in 1912. (Source: Jamie Dowsett/CTV News Winnipeg)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I recognize these footsteps': How Trump and 'coyote' smuggling changed life at the border
Bent signs bolted to the rail threaten fines and imprisonment should violators cross the boundary into the United States, a warning many people are choosing to ignore simply by walking around the barrier.
She took a DNA test for fun. Police used it to charge her grandmother with murder in a cold case
According to court documents, detectives reopened the cold case in 2017 and then worked with a forensics company to extract DNA from Baby Garnet's partial femur, before sending the results to Identifinders International.
Danielle Smith announces new team to patrol Alberta-U.S. border
Premier Danielle Smith says her government will create a team of specially-trained sheriffs tasked with patrolling the Alberta-U.S. border.
Law firm warns $47.8B First Nations child welfare reforms could be lost with election
A legal review commissioned by the Assembly of First Nations is warning a $47.8-billion deal to reform the First Nations child welfare system could be moot if there's a change in government in the upcoming year.
Doug Ford says cutting off U.S. energy supply amid tariff threats a 'last resort'
Premier Doug Ford says that cutting off the energy supply to the U.S. remains a “last resort” amid the threat of a promised 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods but he is warning that his government is ultimately prepared to use “every tool” in its toolbox “to protect the livelihoods of the people of Ontario.”
Man who set fires inside Calgary's municipal building lost testicle during arrest: ASIRT
Two Calgary police officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing in an incident that saw a suspect lose a testicle after being shot with an anti-riot weapon.
Ho ho, oh no: Man sought by police goes down chimney and gets stuck
A Massachusetts man trying to escape from police shimmied down the chimney. And got stuck.
Housing unaffordability still rising despite billions in government measures: PBO
The Parliamentary Budget Officer says the number of households in need is still rising even though Canada is spending billions of dollars a year to address housing affordability,
McDonald's employee who called 911 in CEO's shooting is eligible for reward, but it will take time
More than 400 tips were called into the New York Police Department's Crime Stoppers tip line during the five-day search for a masked gunman who ambushed and fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week.