Lake Street Armory Tank (Press-On)

The tank out front of the Lake Street Armoury is an American-made M5A1 Stuart VI light reconnaissance tank. That was used in the Second World War. It is now a monument representing the service of the local Lincoln and Welland Regiment and the British Columbia Regiment. The tank was used by the 1st Battalion of The Lincoln and Welland Regiment which was part of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division, and had the British Columbia Regiment attached to them in Northwest Europe. It was disabled by a mine in the Netherlands in February 1945. The regiment's pioneer platoon salvaged and repaired it, removing the turret and gun to create a faster, lighter reconnaissance and command vehicle. It was then nicknamed "Press On" after one of the favourite expressions of Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds, acting commander of the First Canadian Army, which he used to encourage his troops. Because of the tank's service through action in Holland and Germany, it became a regimental mascot. All soldiers at the end of the war signed their names on the sides, along with the flags of the countries it passed through which was Canada, France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany. In December 1945, the regiment requested permission to ship it to Canada as a war souvenir to assist in forming a regimental museum collection. It was brought back to St. Catharines in March 1946. And has been in the same spot since then.