![]() Its fame had spread far and wide by the time McCrae himself died, from pneumonia and meningitis, in January 1918. Published in Punch magazine in late 1915, the poem would be used at countless memorial ceremonies, and became one of the most famous works of art to emerge from the Great War. Struck by the sight of bright red blooms on broken ground, McCrae wrote a poem, “In Flanders Field,” in which he channeled the voice of the fallen soldiers buried under those hardy poppies. ![]() Some 87,000 Allied soldiers were killed, wounded or went missing in the battle (as well as 37,000 on the German side) a friend of McCrae’s, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, was among the dead. McCrae tended to the wounded and got a firsthand look at the carnage of that clash, in which the Germans unleashed lethal chlorine gas for the first time in the war. Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian who served as a brigade surgeon for an Allied artillery unit, spotted a cluster of poppies that spring, shortly after the Second Battle of Ypres. As Chris McNab, author of “The Book of the Poppy,” wrote in an excerpt published in the Independent, the brilliantly colored flower is actually classified as a weed, which makes sense given its tenacious nature. But in the warm early spring of 1915, bright red flowers began peeking through the battle-scarred land: Papaver rhoeas, known variously as the Flanders poppy, corn poppy, red poppy and corn rose. From the devastated landscape of the battlefields, the red poppy would grow and, thanks to a famous poem, become a powerful symbol of remembrance.Īcross northern France and Flanders (northern Belgium), the brutal clashes between Allied and Central Powers soldiers tore up fields and forests, tearing up trees and plants and wreaking havoc on the soil beneath. The Great War, as it was then known, also ravaged the landscape of Western Europe, where most of the fiercest fighting took place. We will remember them.From 1914 to 1918, World War I took a greater human toll than any previous conflict, with some 8.5 million soldiers dead of battlefield injuries or disease. ‘We will be joined on the pitch by active servicemen and women, as well as by Chelsea Pensioners, as we pay our respects before the game. Head coach Graham Potter said: ‘We are marking Remembrance at Stamford Bridge on Sunday as it is our closest home fixture to 11 November, and it is always an important occasion when we come together to honour those who have lost their lives to war. Prior to kick-off, Chelsea Pensioners from the Royal Hospital Chelsea will lead the teams out when they walk on to the pitch, as members of the UK Armed Forces Chelsea Official Supporters Club wave a Chelsea poppy banner in the centre circle.īoth captains will then lay a wreath in the centre circle and there will be crowd banners and displays in the stands and a ‘Chelsea Remembers’ on-field display.Ī Trumpeter from the Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment will play the Last Post pitchside, with a minute’s silence honouring those who lost their lives in conflict across the world. Poppy sellers will be present around the stadium on match day and they will be able to take contactless payments. The Royal British Legion raises money to support serving members of the Armed Forces, veterans and their families.
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