by John McCrae, May 1915
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.
During the early days of the Second Battle of Ypres a young Canadian artillery officer, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, was killed on 2nd May, 1915 in the gun positions near Ypres. An exploding German artillery shell landed near him. He was serving in the same Canadian artillery unit as a friend of his, the Canadian military doctor and artillery commander Major John McCrae.
As the brigade doctor, John McCrae was asked to conduct the burial service for Alexis because the chaplain had been called away somewhere else on duty that evening. It is believed that later that evening, after the burial, John began the draft for his now famous poem “In Flanders Fields”.
One hundred years ago today the battle of Passchendaele started during the First World War or what became known as The Great War to those who fought in it. Who knew that a mere 22 years later some of them and certainly their sons would be stuck fighting the same foe in World War II.
Since then, that foe has become our ally and though we haven’t fought on the scale of those wars again we have still sent our sons (and daughters off to be killed). In the First World war Nurse Edith Cavell was shot as a spy. There were brave men and women fighting in the resistance during both wars.
Today I watched a commemoration of the start of Passchendaele from Tyne Cot Cemetery in West Flanders, Belgium. Queen Mathilde of Belgium was there as were Prince Charles and The Cambridges,William and Kate. It was a very emotive programme with readings from people who had lost members of their family during this period and others who read letters from the period including one from a mother who had lost her only son and was writing to members of his company, his friends, for details of when it happened but also to thank them for being his friends and to wish them well in the battles to come. I don’t mind admitting the tears were rolling down my face. The Brits, Irish, French, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders all lost a good part of a generation during this war as we all lost more in the next one. The Germans and their allies also lost many young men during these wars.
Surely there has to be a time when sanity takes over. We have to let our Governments know that we no longer want to send off our children to die. No more missing generations, no more of the hate that makes us follow our leader’s words and rush off to battle. They must work harder on the diplomatic front or at the most send our strongest man to fight their strongest man with a finale that doesn’t end in a death. Peace must have a chance so we can concentrate on looking after the planet too.
Hugs to all