The leadership of an Albert County man was instrumental in the break-out which helped end the First World War.
Lieutenant-Colonel Cyrus Peck won the Victoria Cross 100 years ago this weekend – on September 2, 1918 in the Second Battle of Arras.
Albert County Museum curator Dan Ross says he was a larger-than-life figure.
“At 45 years old, he’s leading his battalion and they end up getting pinned down by German machine gun fire and snipers and artillery after pushing through that particular battle,” Ross notes.
Peck actually moved to the West Coast with his family as a teenager since his father was seeking work in the Vancouver area.
But he never forgot his roots and named his British Columbia home “Hopewell” after his birthplace, Hopewell Hill.
(IMAGE courtesy Google Maps)
