It was originally hoped the makeover of the Monument Hill centrepiece would be completed by Anzac Day.

But the foundry fabricating plaques to be put in new alcoves at the base of the memorial was slowed by coronavirus fallout in China.

Albury RSL sub-branch president Graham Docksey said there was hope a soft opening with the plaques could occur this week.

However, the lockdown in Victoria has added another difficulty with their fitting.

"They were going to be offloaded in Melbourne then taken to Shepparton where the installer is, but he can't cross the border," Mr Docksey said.

"The arrangements now are that the ship docks in Brisbane and Sydney too and they will be dropped off in Sydney and brought down by the new installer."

The work is expected to occur in mid-September before an official unveiling occurs.

"It won't be a big deal because we've got restrictions on gatherings but we've got have a NSW government representative there because they contributed $300,000 and Albury City put in $1 million," Mr Docksey said.

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He said Remembrance Day, which this year comes 75 years after the end of World War II, would not be suitable for the occasion because the NSW Parliament is sitting that day, which would exclude a government minister and Albury MP Justin Clancy from formalities.

Asked why the plaques, which will mark wars and deeds of Indigenous personnel and the Albury Battery, were made in China and Mr Docksey cited expertise.

"The quality of the workmanship is just fabulous, I'm not saying they're better than Australia but I'm looking at workmanship we've used before," he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Docksey has written A Rat on the Loose, a biography of Albury World War II soldier and prisoner of war Ken Tonkin.

It tells of how Mr Tonkin, who died in 2006 aged 87, was a Rat of Tobruk who escaped three times from captivity and worked in Nazi-run coal mines in Poland during the war.

While overseeing the army museum at Bandiana, Mr Docksey was approached by Mr Tonkin and his daughter Lesley with a lengthy manuscript outlining the digger's experience and that formed the basis for the book.

"It's a story worth telling; it's about resilience and making the best of the time we are on earth, even adverse conditions can be turned around," Mr Docksey said.

The 177-page book, subtitled The Story of VX25266 Kenneth Douglas Tonkin 2/23^rd Australian Infantry Battalion Albury's Own, will be on sale at Albury's library from next week.