In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
– John McCrae
In Flanders Fields, among the most iconic war poems even penned, was written in May 1915 by Canadian physician and Lt. Col. John McCrae after he witnessed the death of his 22-year-old friend, Lt. Alexis Helmer, at the Second Battle of Ypres.
McCrae performed Helmer’s burial service himself, during which time he noted how poppies quickly grew around the graves of those who died at Ypres. The next day, he composed In Flanders Field while sitting in the back of an ambulance at a medical station outside Ypres.
McCrae’s references to the red poppies resulted in the remembrance poppy becoming one of the world’s most recognized symbols for soldiers lost in war.
McRae never got an opportunity to reap recognition for his poem.
In January 1918, while commanding a Canadian General Hospital at Boulogne in Northern France, McCrae died of pneumonia at age 45. He was buried with full honors in the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery at Wimereux, just north of Boulogne.
Helmer and McRae were two of approximately 67,000 Canadians who died in service during World War I. In all, some 39 percent of Canadians mobilized for war in the 1914-18 conflict were killed or wounded.
The Commonwealth contributed – and lost – so much in both world wars.
Not one of my fave poems because I am a huge Owen addict, but in general, I find WW1 poetry very evocative.
The Commonwealth really did give so much, and, perhaps it’s just my impression, a higher percentage of college educated and elite sorts than is normally associated with war. That may be part of the reason the poetry was so expressive.
I don’t know about social classes but I think the contribution of the non-mainstream countries is sadly underplayed.
Yes, certainly the contribution of English and French colonies and territories, especially those from Africa and Asia, are almost unknown outside their own areas.
“In Flanders Fields” is one of the few poems I ever memorized. It came so easily I don’t remember trying. Thanks for the historical information.
Thank you for your comment.
Like Roughseas I feel that the contribution of the Commonwealth and colonies is severely underestimated.
One of the things I often think about when considering the contribution of Allies in World War I is that of the Newfoundland Regiment which, on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, sent 780 officers and enlisted men into action. Some 670 were killed, wounded or captured on July 1, 1916, effectively wiping the unit out in a single day.
It is said that Newfoundland, which had dominion status at the time, lost so many young, healthy men in that single battle that it proved a deterrent to it seeking independent nationhood years later.
Hideous consequences.
Reblogged this on History That Interests Me.
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Yes it’s me and I’m awesome.
And so modest!