On a quiet street, far from Canada’s 150th birthday party

Last week, UK resident Gail Orchard (whose sister and brother-in-law, Susan Armbrust and John Suk, live in St. Catharines), was walking down a narrow pedestrian lane while visiting St. Peter Port, capital of the British island of Guernsey. She looked up, spotted this plaque and got out her camera. The historic building is now a Boots Pharmacy, but 248 years ago it was the birthplace of a man who would become ‘The Saviour of Upper Canada’ and the namesake of Brock University. (The plaque can be seen in scale on the second storey of the grey stone building in the photo on the right.)  Major-Gen. Sir Isaac Brock became an enduring figure in Canadian history when he was killed on Oct. 13, 1812 while leading his soldiers, alongside native warriors, in what would be the successful repelling of an American invasion in the Battle of Queenston Heights.