Military service
Burial/memorial information
John McCrae was the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel David McCrae and Janet Simpson Eckford McCrae. He had a sister, Geills, and a brother, Tom.
John McCrae began writing poetry while a student at the Guelph Collegiate Institute. As a young boy, he was also interested in the military. He joined the Highfield Cadet Corps at 14 and at 17 enlisted in the Militia field battery commanded by his father.
The day before he wrote his famous poem, one of McCrae's closest friends was killed in the fighting and buried in a makeshift grave with a simple wooden cross. Wild poppies were already beginning to bloom between the crosses marking the many graves. Unable to help his friend or any of the others who had died, John McCrae gave them a voice through his poem. It was the second last poem he was to write.
On January 28, 1918, after an illness of five days, he died of pneumonia and meningitis. The day he fell ill, he learned he had been appointed consulting physician to the First British Army, the first Canadian so honoured.
Commemorated at the John McCrae Secondary School, Remember Flanders Ottawa and Remember Flanders Guelph.
Digital gallery of Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
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Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Image gallery
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 454 of the First World War Book of Remembrance.
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WIMEREUX COMMUNAL CEMETERY Pas de Calais, France
For more information, visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The Poppy Design is a trademark of The Royal Canadian Legion (Dominion Command) and is used with permission. Click here to learn more about the poppy.
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