In celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, the Citizen is rolling out one fact each day for 150 days until July 1, highlighting the odd, the fascinating and the important bits of Ottawa history you might not know about.
The statue of Sir Galahad, welcoming people to Parliament Hill, actually tells a touching but heartbreaking Ottawa story of heroism and sacrifice. It pays homage to Henry Albert Harper, a young civil servant who drowned trying to save Bessie Blair, who fell through the ice of the Ottawa River during a 1901 skating party. Both died. The monument is inscribed with a motto, chosen by future prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King – who was close friends with Harper – from the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson: “If I lose myself, I save myself!”
— Megan Gillis