Lest we forget

“In Flanders Fields” was written in 1915 by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae at the battlefront during the Second Battle of Ypres, in Belgium where he served as a surgeon. The poem was first published in Punch magazine that December.

Over time “In Flanders Fields” would become a symbol of the sacrifices of  the First World War and is used around the world to honour those who died, and the veterans who survived, as nations remember them.

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.

Lieutenant Colonel McCrae (1872-1918) was a Canadian artist, author, physician, poet and soldier during World War I. He had served previously in the South African (Boer) War.

Interested in learning more about Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae?

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Poets.org

Image by wiol5 from Pixabay