If the walls of Stephen Metcalf's home could talk, they'd tell the story of Captain Kenneth Gilbert McBride.

Metcalf lives at 708 Hoover St., a 112-year-old home in Nelson's Uphill neighbourhood. He and his family moved in a decade ago, and later came to discover the history of its former owners.

It was in that home that McBride grew up with his father Roland Leigh, mother Winnifred and older brother Leigh. It was there, over 80 years ago, the McBride's received tragic news.

鈥淲e think about that family, because they would have had the same fireplace that we have," says Metcalf. "Can you imagine getting news that a child of yours had died in a war and that another one was at grave risk in an invasion somewhere? How upsetting that would be, and it all it happened here in this space.鈥�

The Metcalfs were one of 1,945 households to receive a postcard in April from the Juno Beach Centre Association, which operates the Juno Beach Centre in Normandy, France. To mark the 80th anniversary of the Second World War's end, the association mailed postcards to the former homes of Canadian soldiers who died in the final year of the conflict.

Sal Falk, interpretation and outreach co-ordinator for the Juno Beach Centre, said the He Lived Where You Live campaign is meant to raise awareness of the approximately 14,000 Canadian soldiers who died between August 1944 and the war's end in Europe on May 8, 1945 when Germany signed its second official surrender.

Falk said past campaigns have focused on the D-Day and Dieppe Raid anniversaries, but for this year the organization wanted to tie its efforts to the final year of the conflict.

鈥淲e wanted it to be a more holistic picture of the continuous contributions of Canadians, marking this last year of folks who maybe knew or didn't know how close the war was to ending in Europe.鈥�

Three postcards from the campaign were sent to homes in Nelson.

One went to 304 Carbonate St., the former home of Pilot Officer John Richard Kubin. He died Feb. 21, 1945, at age 19 during air operations over the British Isles and northern and western Europe. Kubin is one of 3,050 Canadians to have their named inscribed at the Runnymede Memorial in England, which was built to honour air force officers with no known grave. Mount Kubin, located north of Nelson, is also named after the fallen soldier.

Another postcard was sent to 616 Second St. There was the home of Pilot Officer Francis John Miller, who was reported missing March 15, 1945, following air operations in Germany. Miller is memorialized in the country at the Hanover War Cemetery.

The final postcard was sent to the McBride home, where the family lived from 1914 until Winnifred's death in 1960.

Kenneth was known in Nelson as a talented golfer. He won tournaments at home and later as a University of British Columbia student before enlisting with the Vancouver-based Seaforth Highlanders of Canada along with his brother Leigh.

On Sept. 16, 1944, Kenneth was serving in Italy when the vehicle he was in hit a mine. He died at age 24 and was buried at what is now Coriano Ridge War Cemetery near the city of Rimini. He also has a mountain named after him 鈥� Mount McBride is located south of Burton on the east side of Lower Arrow Lake.

Leigh also fought in Italy but was critically injured twice, first by being shot in the shoulder then later during an assault in which he lost his left eye and suffered shrapnel wounds to his left arm and both legs. He was captured and sent to a number of prisoner-of-war camps in Germany before being returned to the Allies as part of a prisoner exchange.

In a letter written Oct. 1, 1944, by Roland Leigh to one of Kenneth's friends, he reflected on his sons' service.

"The McBride Boys 鈥� everyone knew they were with the Seaforths 鈥� were known and respected and loved throughout the whole country. When the Nelson people thought of the boys who were overseas and fighting in the front line 鈥� they thought of our boys. No Mother or Dad could have been more proud of their Sons than we were."

The McBride home is now owned by Metcalf, who never received the Juno Beach Centre postcard but already knew all about the McBride family. Metcalf and his family bought the 111-year-old home a decade ago, and came to learn of its history.

Metcalf has come to believe homes should come with their own diaries, each telling the story of its former inhabitants. The home at 708 Hoover, after all, has a story that still resonates after 80 years.

鈥淓very family that comes through a house could have a registry of what happened in the house. Because maybe it's just a pure object and has no soul. Maybe it sort of has a soul.鈥�