- Family have been trying to have the memorial at Shepreth, Cambridgeshire corrected since WW1
- Private George Samuel's name is misspelled as 'Samuels'
- Distressed family used to try and cover extra ' s' with mud
A retired doctor is fighting to have her great uncle's name spelled correctly on a village memorial nearly a century after he was killed in France at the age of 20 during the First World War. Alison Corfield says the mis-spelling of Private George Samuel's name as 'Samuels' on the memorial at Shepreth, Cambridgeshire, caused 'great distress' to his parents after the 1914-18 conflict ended. She says authorities refused to correct the mistake after the memorial was erected and Private Samuel's family had tried to hide the extra 's' by covering it with mud.
Mrs Corfield, 67, of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, hopes that the 'wrong can be righted' as Britain prepares to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of hostilities. She has written to local councillors in Shepreth asking for the spelling to be changed.
Shepreth Parish Council says it is 'actively pursuing' the issue and will have discussions at a meeting later this month. A county councillor who represents Shepreth says there could not be a more 'fitting time' to change the spelling.
Mr Cook said: 'We are actively pursuing getting this changed for her.' Susan van de Ven, a Liberal Democrat member of Cambridgeshire County Council who represents Shepreth and surrounding villages, said she thought that locals would empathise with Mrs Corfield's fight. 'The names inscribed on the Shepreth war memorial are familiar to all who pass by it every day, and I knew George's name when I first heard this story. As in villages everywhere, the young men lost have not been forgotten,' she said. 'Shepreth villagers I'm sure will empathise with George Samuel's family's wish and there could not be a more fitting time to put things right.' Source: Dailymail by Katy Winter Via: Forces War Records Blog.