A special memorial honouring a Canadian war hero has returned to its east London home.

The city held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday to mark the return of the Charley Fox memorial artwork installation, which now sits at the roundabout intersection of Trafalgar and Hale streets.

The 10-metre high piece was temporarily removed in late 2018 for lifecycle maintenance before returning just in time for the Canada Day long weekend.

Sue Fox, daughter of the aforementioned war hero, said her father would’ve been overwhelmed by the towering structure that serves as a centre piece of an overpass named after him.

“Dad was always very humble and didn’t want it to be about him,” said Sue.

“It was always about those who weren’t welcomed home, those who didn’t make it home.”

Along with a ribbon cutting to mark the memorial’s return, Friday’s ceremony also included a special presentation to the Fox family of a miniature replica of the monument which has graced the centre of the roundabout since its opening in 2011.

The memorial was co-created by metalwork artist Jerry Vrabec who owns Custom Art Metal Work on Swinyard Street. It is crafted from stainless steel and concrete, as well as tempered and enamelled glass.

“I’ve read about [Fox]. I feel like it’s close to me,” Vrabec said of the memorial’s subject matter.

“[I have] an interest in flying which I cannot get to do because of my eyesight.”

Fox was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

The Spitfire pilot is known for attacking an unmarked black car in 1944, seriously injuring Erwin Rommell, a famous German Field Marshal who was referred to as the “Desert Fox.”

Fox is also responsible for flying three patrols off the coast of France on D-Day.

He spent the last decade of his life visiting school in Canadian to share stories of the nation’s veterans.

Fox died in 2008 during due to a vehicle collision in Tillsonburg.

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