Mayor, 3 councillors want Trooper Mark Wilson's name scrubbed from city properties

London Mayor Ed Holder and three members of city council have written a letter to their council colleagues, asking them to support of a motion to remove Trooper Mark Wilson's name from all city amenities. 

The move comes after a newspaper report this week about the late war hero's previously undisclosed assault on a female military recruit.

The letter, signed by Holder along with Councillors Elizabeth Peloza, Josh Morgan and Shawn Lewis, calls on council to support a motion that directs staff to identify city amenities named after Wilson and remove his name. These include the park at 2070 Wallingford Ave. and the commemoration in the area of Hale and Trafalgar Streets.

Trooper Mark Wilson Park, in London's northwest, and Trooper Wilson Place, a small street that runs off Hale Street near Trafalgar Street, were named in honour of the soldier and father of two.

According to the newspaper report, Wilson was fined $1,500 and given a reprimand. The woman's name is protected under a publication ban. 

Wilson was killed in 2006 at age 39 when a roadside bomb destroyed the vehicle he was in near Kandahar, Afghanistan.

The letter says city politicians have an obligation to act.

"As you know, this council made a commitment to creating a safe London for women and girls, which made London the first city in all of Canada to make this a strategic priority," the letter says. "We have an obligation, morally and otherwise, to honour that commitment at all times, and as such, we are requesting your support."

Phillip Millar, a lawyer Wilson's family has hired to protect his legacy, called the move to review the landmarks "cancel culture gone wild again."