In Flanders Fields

Lore & Background

John McCrae was a poet and physician from Guelph, Ontario. He developed an interest in poetry at a young age and wrote throughout his life. His earliest works were published in the mid-1890s in Canadian magazines and newspapers. McCrae's poetry often focused on death and the peace that followed. According to legend, fellow soldiers retrieved the poem after McCrae, initially dissatisfied with his work, discarded it. The poem was first published on December 8, 1915, in the London magazine Punch. Its references to red poppies growing over graves led to the remembrance poppy becoming a widely recognized memorial symbol.

Reader's Guide

"In Flanders Fields" is one of the most quoted poems from the First World War. Its immediate popularity led to parts of the poem being used in efforts to recruit soldiers and raise money selling war bonds. Its appeal was nearly universal, giving voice to the dead and serving as a command to the living to press on.

Did You Know?

• John McCrae was a Canadian physician and Lieutenant-Colonel who had previously fought in the Second Boer War.
• McCrae wrote the poem on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of his friend Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, who died in the Second Battle of Ypres.
• According to legend, McCrae initially discarded the poem, but fellow soldiers retrieved it.
• The poem was first published in the London magazine Punch on December 8, 1915.
• By 1920, the poem had been set to music by at least 55 composers, including Charles Ives, Arthur Foote, and John Philip Sousa.