H. W. Beecher Smith, Peck Memorial, Hillsborough, Albert County, New Brunswick. From the William Francis Ganong Collection, New Brunswick Museum, 1987.17.826
It’s Remembrance Week at photo-a-day. This is a shot of Peck Memorial Hall in Hillsborough. It was the first such memorial hall build in Canada in memory of a solder killed in the Great War. This photo dates from 1925.
On October 30, 1917 the First World War battle of Passchendaele claimed the life of Lieut. George Bishop Peck. Before the battle Lieut. Peck wrote to his father requesting, in the event of his death, that his share of the family’s fortune be used for the benefit of the whole community, particularly the young people of Albert County. His father was Mr. John L. Peck, local bank owner and member of the Provincial Legislature who was involved in manufacturing and mercantile concerns. On November 30, 1921 Lieut. Peck’s last request was realized when this building was dedicated to the memory of fallen heroes of Albert County. His father, who had financed the cost of construction, deeded ownership of the Hall over to the people of the county.