Brothers Norman and George Berry went to war side by side, they fought together at Passchendaele, served their country again in World War 2, both farmed in North Otago and they are buried next to each other in the Oamaru soldiers' cemetery.
Now, their story is being being told on a commemorative cheese.
Oamaru's Whitestone Cheese has released a limited edition ''Brothers in Arms'' version of its Livingstone Gold cheese in a collaboration with Sir Peter Jackson's ''The Great War Exhibition'' in Wellington.
Norman and George Berry were the grandfather and great-uncle respectively of Whitestone Cheese chief executive officer Simon Berry.
In February, the Oamaru-based company was approached to supply cheese to the gift shop at ''The Great War Exhibition''.
As the family discovered more about their connection with World War 1, they decided to tell the story on a concertina label attached to the cheese.
''The more we learned about the story of the two brothers, we thought a good name for [the cheese] would be Brothers in Arms,'' Mr Berry said.
On October 19, 1916, Norman and George Berry both volunteered for the Otago Regiment at the Oamaru Army Drill Hall and were allocated sequential service numbers - 39149 and 39148.
They were sent to Sling Camp in England on February 17, 1917 for final training on the reinforcements troop ship Aparima.
After training, they were sent on to France and fought in the battle of Passchendaele.
Both brothers were wounded in battle and subsequently hospitalised - Norman for shell shock and George for a bullet wound in his arm.
To their surprise, they were reunited in Sling Camp before both being deemed unfit for further service.
They were sent home together on Tahiti, arriving back in New Zealand on March 16, 1918.
Both brothers also served in World War 2 - Norman as a captain in the Otago Mounted Rifles and George in the Home Guard.
Mr Berry never met his grandfather.
When Norman died, the family farm was passed on to his son Bob Berry, Mr Berry's father, who went on to found Whitestone Cheese in 1987.
''As a result of them surviving the war, they then came back and farmed in the high country in Otago and then through succession my dad went farming and he started Whitestone Cheese,'' Mr Berry said.
''So really, if it wasn't for them surviving the war, we wouldn't have Whitestone Cheese ... it's quite a neat story.''
Mr Berry described his grandfather and great-uncle as stalwarts of the Oamaru community.
They helped to establish the Oamaru RSA, they were keen fishermen and ''they just loved North Otago''.
The collaboration has been about four months in the making and the first shipment was sent to Wellington on Thursday.
''It has been quite a quick development,'' Mr Berry said.
The cheese, Whitestone's Livingstone Gold, will be sold in ''The Great War Exhibition'' gift shop, online and in store in Oamaru.
''The Great War Exhibition'', created by Sir Peter Jackson, commemorates the role played by New Zealand in World War 1.
Mr Berry said $2 of every cheese sold would go back to the exhibition.
Brothers In Arms cheese
• Created for Peter Jackson's ''The Great War Exhibition''.
• To be sold in ''The Great War Exhibition'' gift shop, online and in store in Oamaru. From every sale $2 will be donated to the exhibition.
• A version of Whitestone's Livingstone Gold cheese.''
• The Great War Exhibition'' opened in April and is housed in the historic Dominion Museum in Wellington. The exhibition is free to visit.
