After months of restorations the Victoria Park Cenotaph in London has finally been revealed, but it contains a typo.
The structure, which was renovated to commemorate soldiers lost in the Korean conflict and the Afghanistan mission, has the wrong dates.
“This past Monday when the hoarding was removed an error was discovered on the date for the Afghanistan conflict. The incorrect date of 2010 was inscribed as opposed to 2001,” said Tim Wellhauser, facilities manager for the City of London.
Instead of reading 2001 to 2014 as the dates for Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan, the plaque reads 2010 to 2014.
He says the design team, not taxpayers, will be footing the bill for the fix.
“The original drawings were correct. When the contract drawings were prepared an error was made. The error is going to be rectified and corrected within the next week. There is no cost to the taxpayer,” said Wellhauser.
City hall informed the Royal Canadian Legion of the error, and promised it would be corrected as soon as possible.
“We’re not too upset about it, the fences are still up, the project isn’t quite finished yet. We were assured it would be all fixed up and looking good by Sept. 17 when we have the re-dedication ceremony and the start of Legion week,” said Caspar Koevoets, zone commander for the Royal Canadian Legion in London.
The city received $158,242 in federal funding to repair the landmark as part of a Canada 150 grant.
The remaining amount of $316,958 was provided by the City of London out of its public art maintenance fund, with some of the cost subsidized by donations from citizens.
Fourteen southwestern Ontario soldiers were killed during Canada’s Afghanistan mission, including 39-year-old Trooper Mark Wilson who was killed by a roadside bomb.
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