'We'll never forget it': Husband and wife honour soldiers killed in Passchendaele

A husband and wife fromHillsborough, N.B.,havetravelled to the Menin Gate Memorial in Belgium tohonour two soldiers from Albert Countywho died 100 years ago at the Battle of Passchendaele.

"It's been a very emotional week but it's been a special week for us too,"Kevin Berry toldShift N.B.from Belgium.

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Berry moved into his home in Hillsborough 17 years ago, a place locals referred to as the "Peck House."

It was a tremendous honour to be able to do that on behalf of the members of our Legion and on behalf of the community in general.Kevin Berry

After doing some researchhe discovered his house's namesake was after a familyand their son:George Peck a Canadiansolider from the town that waskilled in World War 1.

Berry also learned that Peck's father, John, honoured George'slife by building a stone building on Main Street, named PeckMemorial Hall, which served the people of the town and Albert County for more than 85 years.

'It was quite astonishing'

After learning so much about his home's history as the Peck family's house, Berry and his wife travelledto Ypres, Belgium.

Theylaida wreathat theMeninGate, inmemory of the sacrificeof George Peck and another fallen solider from Albert County,William Pearl Cole.

"It was quite astounding just when you first walked in the size of it was much larger than I had imagined," Berry said.

"To see an entire section with the names of over 6,000 Canadians soldiers, whose bodies were never found, it really changed my perception of what it means to be Canadian."

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The ceremony in the small city near the French borderhas been held nearly every night since 1928, except for when the Nazi's occupied the country during the Second World War.

'We'll never forget it'

Traffic was stopped and buglers played at the ceremony followed by a powerful moment of silence, Berry said.

They laid the wreathon behalf of the town and the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 32on Oct. 30 100 years to the day that both Peck and Cole were killed at Passchendaele.

Berry said it was the 30,844th time the ceremony was performed and it was a moment that's changed him forever.

"It was a tremendous honour to be able to do that on behalf of the members of our Legion and on behalf of the community in general," he said.

"We'll never forget it."