The fame of John McCrae rests almost entirely on one poem, 'In Flanders Fields', which is often read at official Remembrance Day events. Like Rupert Brooke's 'The Soldier ' it is one of the most well known pro-war poems to have been written during the First World War.
McCrae was born in Guelph, Ontario in 1872. He studied medicine at the University of Toronto, and graduated in 1898. McCrae served in the Second Boer War in South Africa, and after the war, he returned to Canada and set up a practice as a doctor in Guelph.
In 1915, McCrae enlisted with the First Brigade of the Canadian Field Artillery and was sent to the Ypres Salient in Belgium. It was here that he wrote his famous poem “In Flanders Fields”. The poem was inspired by the death of a friend and fellow soldier, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, who was killed by a shell blast during the Battle of Ypres. He almost throw the poem away, but a Sergeant asked if could send it to a magazine. The poem was first published in December 1915, and it soon popular with editors of pro-war publications it published in magazines and newspapers across the English-speaking world as a aid to recruitment. In the USA the poem become part of the campaign to draw the US into the war.
McCrae continued to serve in the war and was promoted to the rank of Major in 1916. He was in charge of a field hospital at the Battle of the Somme, and was well known for his care and compassion for his patients. Unfortunately, he contracted pneumonia in January 1918 and died a few days later in Boulogne, France.
This short somewhat uncritical biography of McCrae is not without interest, but it could have been written with more depth. It also includes a short selection his other poems. And the photographs add detail.
In Flanders Fields
By John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That Mark out 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:I
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith we us who did
We shall not sleep, through poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
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John McCrae: Beyond Flanders Fields (Amazing Stories) Paperback – 1 Jan. 2016
by
Susan Raby-Dunne
(Author)
- Print length142 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHeritage Group Distribution Ltd
- Publication date1 Jan. 2016
- Dimensions13.34 x 1.27 x 20.96 cm
- ISBN-101772031577
- ISBN-13978-1772031577
Product description
About the Author
Susan Raby-Dunne is a military historian, composer, veterans advocate, First and Second World War battlefield guide, and the author and editor of numerous books including John McCrae: Beyond Flanders Fields; Morrison: The Long-lost Memoir of Canadas Artillery Commander in the Great War; and Hell Burned Through: The Art and Story of a Lancaster Rear Gunner. Her musical version of the poem In Flanders Fields debuted on CBC radio and internationally in 2006. She is the Canadian representative of the US-based charity, Soldiers Heart. After years of ranching and breeding horses, she now devotes herself to writing.
Product details
- Publisher : Heritage Group Distribution Ltd (1 Jan. 2016)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 142 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1772031577
- ISBN-13 : 978-1772031577
- Dimensions : 13.34 x 1.27 x 20.96 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 3,740,961 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 1,260 in Canadian Historical Biographies
- 3,525 in World War I Biographies (Books)
- 24,638 in Biographies on Novelist & Playwrights
- Customer reviews:
Customer reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
8 global ratings
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- John ByrneReviewed in Canada on 19 November 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read about a great man
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I read this book. I was expecting a detailed description of the writing of “In Flanders Fields”. Boy was I mistaken. This is a beautiful and well researched accounting of a great man, a great Canadian. I urge anyone to give this book a read. It will give you great insight into what Word War 1 was like but more importantly it will give you insight as to how to live your own life to the max. John McCrae is known by his wonderful poem but that is the least of his achievements. Well done Susan Raby-Dunne
- Carolyn A AylesworthReviewed in Canada on 15 October 2017
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
So nice to learn more about the life of the man who wrote the iconic poem that we know so well.