This week marks 101 years since the death of the author of the most famous poem written about World War 1 – In Flanders Fields.
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae died of meningitis and pneumonia on January 28th, 1918 after a five day illness.
McCrae wrote In Flanders Fields the day after one of his closest friends was killed in the fighting and buried under a simple wooden cross.
According to Veterans Affairs Canada, wild poppies had begun blooming between the crosses marking the many graves, inspiring McCrae to pen the now famous poem recited at Remembrance Day ceremonies every year.
