Remember Flanders - Guelph
Municipality/Province: Guelph, ON
Memorial number: 35026-026
Type: Sculpture - bronze
Address: 52 Norfolk Street
Location: Guelph Civic Museum
GPS coordinates: Lat: 43.5434867 Long: -80.2512814
Submitted by: Victoria Edwards
Photo credit: Tim Laye, Ontario War Memorials
The Remember Flanders memorial in Guelph (and Ottawa) were 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. As he writes with a notepad in hand, his medical bag is nearby and at his feet are poppies representing each of Canada's 23 regiments. 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.
The statue was promoted by the McCrae Statue Committee fundraising chair Lieutenant-Colonel (Retired) Michael McKay and former Navy veteran Bill Winegard, and produced by the Canadian sculptor Ruth Abernethy. The Campaign Goal of $300,000 was raised through the endorsement and support of community-minded philanthropists, organizations, businesses and citizens. The Rotary Club of Guelph contributed an initial $40,000 (with a $100,000 pledge) for the statue. Contributors included military personnel and Royal Canadian Legion organizations, such as the John McCrae branch 234 in Guelph. It was unveiled on June 25, 2015 and is dedicated to Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, celebrating his career as an Artillery Officer and Medical Officer. The memorial commemorates the Centennials of the Second Battle of Ypres, the Saint Julien Gas Attacks, and the writing of In Flanders Fields.
Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, one of the important sons of the city of Guelph, born in 1872, was raised in Guelph, and his limestone cottage on Guelph’s Water Street is home to the McCrae House Museum, a part of Guelph Museums, comprising the Guelph Civic Museum. Guelph’s 11th Field Artillery Regiment was once commanded by Capt. David McCrae, John McCrae’s father. Members of this regiment have served since the last world war in various roles, primarily peacekeeping efforts internationally. John McCrae succumbed to complications of pneumonia and meningitis in 1918.
Inscription found on memorial
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
John McCrae
Street view
Note
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