Devoted nephew makes sure uncle is not forgotten at Auckland dawn service and is mistaken for protester

Auckland man Paul Sadlier makes sure his Great-Uncle Toi Karina is remembered at this morning's public service at Auckland War Memorial Museum. Photo/NZME

An Auckland man made sure his late great-uncle was prominent at this morning's Anzac Day ceremony but not before one woman took him to task thinking he was a protester.

Devoted nephew Paul Sadlier wrote the name of his much-loved, Great-Uncle Toi Karina together with his service number and hometown on a giant sign, prominently displaying it at this morning's dawn ceremony at the Auckland Domain.

Karina, who died some 40 years ago, served during WWI in northern France and specialised in explosives. Later he went on to teach self-defence skills to those fighting in WWII.

Today Sadlier turned up with the enormous placard but met with unexpected resistance when a woman wrongly accused him in the pre-dawn darkness of unnecessary protest action.

"She told me this wasn't the appropriate place to protest. But that's not why I'm here. It's my way of honouring him on this special day."

Some young naval cadets later approached Sadlier to apologise for the women's scolding, saying they realised he was simply displaying his relative's details in a bold way.

Brushing off the brusque, unexpected reaction Sadlier said the large placard had drawn a lot of positive attention to his great-uncle, who he described as man who loved the simple things in life.

"He was very well known in the area and a lot of people are talking about him."

Family members were proud of Toi Karina's accomplishments in serving the nation over a lifetime. While he spoke little about the war effort he would never be forgotten.

Said Sadlier:"There's still someone that remembers him. And that's me."