Remember the spirit of Flanders

I WILL be away in Devonport at the Australian Sister Cities Association annual conference for Remembrance Day on Saturday, 11 November, but will share the ceremony with friends in that city.
I have often been impressed at our Remembrance Day ceremonies with the emotion of Dr John McCrae’s poem In Flanders Fields being read.
Recently I was on tour through Flanders, a place where farmers from time to time find the remains of men who died during the great battles.
Little does it matter now which side they were on, but the poem, and its sequel The Victory Emblem by Moina Michael, live on so those who sacrificed so much may never fall from our thoughts.
A Canadian, Dr McCrae wrote the poem while serving in Flanders, France, during May 1915 after the poppy inspired him.
The flower’s seeds will lie in the ground for years until it is disturbed, and there was plenty of disturbed soil during his time at Flanders.
They were blooming in abundance.
Dr McCrae was born of Scottish parents who moved to Canada.
He had his medical career in Civvy Street cut short when war erupted, and in 1914 he was posted to France as a frontline doctor.
Dr McCrae was wounded in May 1918 and died in his own hospital a few days later.
His poem had an enormous impact on YMCA secretary Miss Michael, as it did on many other people, and to this day reminds us of the sacrifice given so that we may enjoy our freedom.
Miss Michael had made her home available to the YMCA for a conference of overseas YMCA secretaries.
She was allocated a small amount of money for the use of her home, but she spoke of and read the two poems during the meeting and used the money allocated to buy a red poppy for each of the 25 delegates.
She wore one herself and the secretaries each paid for their own poppy.
This is believed to be the first poppy fundraiser.
The French delegate, Madame Guerin, travelled the world to market the idea of selling artificial poppies to raise money to assist exservicemen and their families.
The first poppy day was in England on 11 November 1921 and poppies were also sold in Australia that year.
The poppy sales are now an important fundraiser that helps provide support for service personnel and their families who have been engaged in war.
They also serve, along with the poems, as a stark reminder of the terrible tragedy of war.
A mythical story is told that the poppies at Flanders were white before the blood was spilt on their fields.