Remember Flanders - Ottawa

The Remember Flanders memorial in Ottawa (and Guelph) was designed by Canadian sculptor Ruth Abernethy. The hand-sculpted figure and the log on which McCrae is seated were sculpted as one piece. The two ends of the log and the base of rock and dirt were sculpted in another studio. Ruth was assisted by Cassie Koch and Lynette Schlichting who worked on the trees and base.

The crested buttons, the cap badge and uniform details are specific to John McCrae, 1915. On his uniform, his Major’s rank is visible and the Gunner badge on his cap and the grenades on his lapels represent his service with the Canadian Field Artillery. As he writes with a notepad in hand, his medical bag is nearby and at his feet are poppies. In part because of the poem's popularity, the poppy was adopted as the Flower of Remembrance for the war dead of Britain, France, the United States, Canada and other Commonwealth countries.

It was erected by the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery in collaboration with the Royal Canadian Medical Service. This beautiful statue stands beside the National Artillery Memorial and was unveiled on May 3, 2015 – the 100^th anniversary of the writing of his renowned poem.

Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae was the Canadian soldier, a doctor and teacher, who wrote In Flanders Fields during the First World War. Born in Guelph, Ontario in 1872, he served with an artillery battery in the South African War and had a successful civilian medical career. When the First World War broke out in 1914, the patriotic 41-year-old enlisted again and would be appointed as a medical officer with the First Brigade of the Canadian Field Artillery.

During the Second Battle of Ypres in the spring of 1915, McCrae was tending to the wounded in a part of Belgium traditionally called Flanders. On May 2, a close friend was killed in action and this painful loss inspired McCrae to write In Flanders Fields the next day. It would be published in Britain’s Punch magazine and quickly became one of the best-known poems of the war, helping make the poppy an international symbol of remembrance. Sadly, Lieutenant-Colonel McCrae would not survive the conflict, dying of illness in January 1918.

[plaque]

Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae
Some of the heaviest fighting of the First World War took place in the trenches near Ypres, Belgium. It was during the Second Battle of Ypres that the German Army first used deadly chlorine gas against Allied troops. Despite the debilitating effects of the gas, Canadian soldiers fought relentlessly and held the line. Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae was inspired to write the poem In Flanders Fields after presiding over the burial of a friend during this battle.

[plaque]

• Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae (1872-1918)
• John McCrae was a Canadian poet, gunner and
  physician who participated in the First World War.
  In May 1915, he was moved to write the well-known
  poem "In Flanders Fields" following the death of
  comrades during the Second Battle of Ypres in
  Belgium. McCrae's poem came to symbolize the
  sacrifice of all who fought and died in the First
  World War and is the inspiration for the poppy
  as the symbol of remembrance in Canada and in
  other countries.
• This statue was erected on May 3, 2015, by
  The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery in
  collaboration with the Royal Canadian Medical Service
  and with support from the Government of Flanders.
• 
  Artist: Ruth Abernethy
• Lieutenant-colonel John McCrae (1872-1918)
• Poèt canadien, artilleur et médecin, John McCrae
  a servi pendant la Première Guerre mondiale. En mai
  1915, à la suite de la mort de camarades survenue
  durant la deuxième bataille d'Ypres en Belgique,
  il a écrit le célèbre poème In Flanders Fields. Ce
  dernier est devenue le symbole du sacrifice de tous
  ceux et celles qui ont combattu et ont perdu la vie
  pendant la Première Guerre mondiale et il est à
  l'origine de l'adoption du coquelicot comme symbole
  du souvenir, utilisé au Canada et dans d'autres pays.
• Cette statue a été érigée le 3 mai 2015 par le
  Régiment royal de l'Artillerie canadienne, en
  collaboration avec le Service de santé royal canadien
  et grace au soutien du gouvernement flamand.
• 
  Artiste : Ruth Abernethy