It is a mistake which has gone unnoticed on a Maheno war memorial for decades, but now an Invercargill man wants it fixed. Allison Beckham reports.
Trevor Hobbs' great-uncle Eddie Percy Appelbe is listed on the Maheno war memorial, North Otago, as ''one of the glorious dead'' killed in World War 1.
The only trouble is, Eddie never even made it overseas - he enlisted with brothers Albert (Bert) and William (Bill), but was turned down for overseas service.
It was Bert who was killed in action on October 4, 1917.
Mr Hobbs, who lives in Invercargill, began researching his great-uncles after he ''became the keeper of the family history'' a few years ago and was dismayed when he discovered the wrong brother was listed on the memorial.
He said he informed the Waitaki District Council (WDC) last year, but, after many emails back and forth, the council said it was unwilling to correct the plaque because it was too difficult and costly.
''It am extremely disappointed it has come down to money. It is very hurtful,'' Mr Hobbs said.
The 42 names on the memorial are cast on a bronze plaque.
A Dunedin stonemason contacted by the council estimated it would cost $350 to grind off ''Eddie Percy'', take moulds of the appropriate letters to create ''Albert'' and glue the new letters on.
However, the stonemason later said he believed altering the plaque would disfigure it and suggested Albert's name be put on a separate small plaque.
But Mr Hobbs did not want Albert's sacrifice to be seen as somehow of lesser significance than the others named on the memorial and preferred to see the original plaque altered.
After consulting an engineering firm, he was told it would be possible to repair the plaque at a cost of perhaps $1200.
The words ''Eddie Percy'' could be milled out and a recess created, allowing a new piece of bronze bearing Albert's name to be inserted and sweated into place.
''Having done that, the whole plaque should be sandblasted to give it a uniform appearance. The weather would do the rest and in no time at all the whole plaque would tarnish and have the appearance it has today. The restoration work would be invisible,'' Mr Hobbs said.
Over the months, his research has uncovered at least two other incorrect names on the Maheno memorial.
He has asked the council to consider researching all the names and correcting any which required it.
But WDC recreation manager Erik van der Spek said the council did not have the resources to do that.
The decision not to correct Albert Appelbe's name was not cost-related, he said.
''I know Trevor feels we should be doing more, but we don't think the original plaque should be removed or altered. Who are we to say what was in the minds of the people who put the names on the plaque?
''We are happy to acknowledge the known error and think it is appropriate to do that with an additional plaque at council's expense.''
He also had reservations about whether the plaque could be removed and replaced without damaging it or the memorial.
Military historian Dr Aaron Fox, of Invercargill, said war memorials were ''notoriously inaccurate'' since they tended to have been erected by small and often self-appointed groups.
''These are local memorials, not official memorials ... and what names were listed on them was arbitrary. If they were done immediately after the war they are more likely to be accurate.''
Mr Hobbs had contacted him about the Maheno memorial and Dr Fox had indicated his preference was to leave the original plaque unaltered - since the errors were part of the story of commemorating Maheno's contribution to World War 1 - and to attach a second plaque close to the original noting the correction.
Mr Hobbs said Albert was not forgotten as he was listed correctly on the Tyne Cot Memorial, in Belgium, and in the World War 1 hall of memories at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
His preference was still for Albert's name to be on the original plaque at Maheno.
''I hope [this article] will prompt the council into putting a few dollars aside to fix it properly. We still have time. It would be fitting for Albert's name to be there by Anzac Day, 2017 - a century after his death.''
