In Flanders Fields is a poem by the Canadian doctor and soldier John McCrae, written on 3 May 1915 during the second battle of Ypres. Spoken by the voices of the dead, it became the most famous poem of the First World War and made the poppy the symbol of remembrance.
Written at Ypres
McCrae, a medical officer with the Canadian artillery, was treating the wounded in a dressing station near the Yser canal during the second battle of Ypres. On 2 May 1915 his friend Lieutenant Alexis Helmer was killed.
The next day, looking at the poppies growing among the hasty graves, McCrae wrote the poem, a rondeau of fifteen lines in which the dead speak and ask the living to continue their struggle.
Publication
The poem was published anonymously in the London magazine Punch on 8 December 1915. It was quickly reprinted, recited and used in recruiting campaigns and to sell war bonds in Canada and the United States.
McCrae's name became known, and the poem was included in his posthumous collection In Flanders Fields and Other Poems (1919).
The poppy
Inspired by the poem, the American teacher Moina Michael wrote a reply and began selling red poppies in 1918 to help veterans. The Frenchwoman Anna Guérin spread the idea to Britain and the Commonwealth.
Since 1921 poppies have been worn in Britain and Canada in the weeks before 11 November, and the poem is read at remembrance ceremonies.
Anecdotes
On the Canadian banknote
The poem was printed on the back of the Canadian ten-dollar note issued in 2001, along with an image of a poppy.
Thrown away?
According to a story told by fellow officers, McCrae was not satisfied with the poem and threw it away, and another officer retrieved it and sent it to newspapers. The story is not proven.
Frequently asked questions
Who wrote In Flanders Fields?
John McCrae, a Canadian army doctor, in May 1915.
What form is the poem?
A rondeau: fifteen lines on two rhymes, with the opening words repeated as a refrain.
Why are poppies linked to the poem?
Poppies grew on the disturbed earth of the battlefields and among the graves, and McCrae's poem made them the image of the war dead.