KEY POINTS:
World War II Bomber Command veterans have patched up a row with the Auckland War Memorial Museum over its refusal to make space for their memorial.
Museum trust board chairman David Hill said yesterday that both parties had agreed on the unveiling and display of a memorial to honour New Zealand's service and contribution to RAF Bomber Command.
He said the dedication would be held in an appropriate location before Anzac Day (April 25), in the presence of a full Air Force colour guard and invited guests.
Staff would then look for a "transitional location" in the museum until a permanent home could be found for the bronze memorial, which is 1.2m wide and 1.8m high.
"The board has never not been supportive of the idea - the principle is well established - it's the eventual size of the statue that's been the problem,"said Mr Hill.
RAF Bomber Command Association of New Zealand administrator Peter Wheeler said the main news for the veterans was "we are inside the museum in a respectful location."
Last month, association president Bill Simpson was told that the board had decided against housing the statue and would instead fund a plaque in the Hall of Memories.
The association protested. It had raised $100,000 for the Weta Workshop designed sculpture on the understanding the museum would display it.
On Wednesday, Mr Hill met the veterans and then the trust board reconsidered what it should do.
In a joint announcement, Mr Simpson, a retired wing commander, who is 86, said the association was happy about the dedication and was confident that a "first-rate" permanent home for the memorial would be found.
Mr Wheeler said that when association members were told "a few tears were shed and there was relief in their voices. Not for themselves, but for all those boys they remember."
More than 2000 New Zealand air crew were lost in RAF Bomber Command during the war.
Mr Hill said a possible permanent location was in a memorial park in the Auckland Domain, near the museum.
This would be appropriate for the scale of the Bomber Command memorial and would allow other branches of the armed forces to have memorials too, but this needs to be explored with Auckland City Council.
Such a plot would allow veterans' groups to visit their memorials without being restricted to museum hours.
