John McCrae

Lieutenant Colonel John Alexander McCrae, MD (30 November 1872 – 28 January 1918) was a Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I. He is famous for writing the war memorial poem "In Flanders Fields".

Colonel John McCrae statue at Guelph Civic Museum, unveiled in 2015 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his poem "In Flanders Fields"

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row...

Quotes

If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

In Flanders Fields, and Other Poems (1918)

In Flanders fields the poppies grow

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.

External links

• Brief biography at the Guelph Civic Museum
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Works by John McCrae at Project Gutenberg
  • Free eBook of In Flanders Fields, and Other Poems at Project Gutenberg
• John McCrae in Flanders Fields — Historical Essay, illustrated with many photographs of John McCrae
• Free audiobook of "In Flanders Fields" from LibriVox
• Burial record with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission