by Barbara Dean Simmons
Reprinted from The Packet, November 11, 2016
Hayley Peddle performed her own song of remembrance at the ceremony at Southwest Arm Academy on Nov. 10. ©Barbara Dean-Simmons/TC Media
LITTLE HEART’S EASE — Over 200 people packed the gymnasium at Southwest Arm Academy on Thursday, Nov. 10, but the only sound heard as Hayley Peddle stood in front of them was the sound of her clear, sweet voice.
The grade 7 student performed a song she wrote herself — “Many a Mile” — in memory of the 26 men from the region who were veterans of the First World War.
When she finished her song – she received a standing ovation.
Haley, the daughter of Angie and Brad Peddle, told the Packet that when her teacher approached her earlier this year with the idea of writing a song for the special occasion she answered, “one hundred percent, yes!”
Lester Green then provided Hayley with information about each of the 26 men.
Using that information, and with a little bit of help from an aunt, she finished the song in early September.
Yesterday was not the first time she performed her song in public.
The first time was at the Music NL convention in Bonavista last month, where it also got a positive reception.
This is also not the first time that Haley has done something to honour soldiers.
Last Christmas she bought and donated eight gift cards to the Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC) just before Christmas.
She was inspired to do that after being involved in Armstrong’s War — a play by Colleen Murphy about how a 12-year-old girl named Halley learns about war, hope, courage and honour from a Canadian veteran of the Afghanistan war.
Hayley played the role of Halley in the production by the New Curtain Theatre in Milton.
She told The Packet she was proud to be able to write and perform a song, specifically, for the First World War veterans from the South West Arm.
Among the stories that Lester Green shared with her, she said, the most compelling one for her was the story of Andrew Shaw, who was captured by the Germans and held as a Prisoner of War for many months towards the end of the war.
“And another story was the story of the soldier who survived by hiding under a pile of dead bodies.
“They went through so much,” she said, “and suffered so much.”
As she sang the last line, and strummed the last note on her guitar, the audience rose to give her a standing ovation for her remarkable act of remembrance.