Location: City of Ottawa N 45 25.417 W 75 41.682
In a small parkette near the corner of Elgin Street and Lawrence Freiman Lane. Across the road from the National War Memorial.
This memorial statue of Brigadier Andrew Hamilton Gault DSO, OBE, ED, CD (1882-1958), was erected in 1992. The bronze statue was made by sculptor Don Begg, in 1990.
Brigadier Gault was the man who founded, funded and formed the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry at the outbreak of WWI. This was last privately raised regiment in the British Empire.
He served in the South African War as a commissioned officer in the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles. After that conflict he returned to Canada and stayed with the militia as a member of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada.
With the outbreak of war in 1914, Gault began his quest to form his own Regiment, made up of men who had previously seen military action, such as those veterans of the South African War or British Army. The Princess Pats given parliamentary charter on August 10, 1914, and after only ten days of recruiting were almost 1,100 men strong. They where the first Canadian soldiers to arrive in France, seeing their first action at St. Eloi in 1915. Gault led his men into battle and was wounded several times, ultimately losing his left leg to his injuries. The PPCLI continued to fight in all major battles of the Great War, and by the end, Gault was one of only two officers of the regiment to have survived the war.
After the war, he returned to England and continued his career as a politican. At the start of WWII, he served on the staff of the Canadian Army in England. He returned to his home in Montreal in 1944, due to his health and remained a key figure with the PPCLI after the war, becoming honourary Colonel of the Regiment until his death in 1958.
Marker text:
(PPCLI Crest)
BRIGADIER ANDREW HAMILTON GAULT DSO, OBE, ED, CD.
FOUNDER / FONDATEUR DU RÉGIMENT
PRINCESS PATRICIA'S CANADIAN LIGHT INFANTRY
THIS STATUE IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF
ANDREW HAMILTON GAULT, CANADIAN WAR HERO,
PHILANTHROPIST, INDUSTRIALIST, AND PUBLIC SERVANT,
HIS LIFE WAS AN EXAMPLE OF DEVOTED SERVICE TO
CANADA IN WAR AND PEACE.
OVER TWO THOUSAND PATRICIAS HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES
FOR CANADA'S FREEDOM. THEIR LEGACY OF SELFLESSNESS,
HEROISM, AND DEVOTION OF DUTY CONTINUES TO INSPIRE
THEIR SUCCESSORS WHO PROUDLY SERVE CANADA IN
THE QUEST FOR PEACE.
DEDICATED 1992
Cette statue est dédiée à la mémoire de
Andrew Hamilton Gault, héros
de guerre canadien, philanthrope, industriel et serviteur de l`état.
Toute sa vie, en temps de guerre ou de paix, il a fait preuve d`un dévouement
exemplaire pour le canada.
Plus de deux mille membres de ce Régiment ont
donné leur vie pour la liberté du Canada. Leur
legs d`altruisme, d`héroïsme et de dévouement au
devoir continue d`inspirer leurs successeurs qui servent
le Canada avec fierté en quête de la paix.
Dédiée en 1992.
