Tag: John McCrae

Jessie Pope

Written by Lawrance, W on 18th March, 2012. Posted in Poet Biographies.

It is, perhaps, ironic that Jessie Pope should share her date of birth (although not the year) with Wilfred Owen, who vilified her and her type in his poem Dulce et Decorum Est. Her reputation today mainly persists due to Wilfred Owen’s original dedication of that poem to her, and his criticism therein of her type of poet, who glorified war, regardless of the consequences.

Prior to the war, Pope had been a published poet and author and, in common with many others in that profession, turned her hand to writing propaganda poetry. Such verse was widely read at the time, in newspapers and magazines, becoming enormously popular with the general public in the early stages of the conflict. Once the realities of the war began to hit home, however, Pope (unlike many others) ceased writing jingoistic poetry and returned to penning childrens’ stories.

Today, Jessie Pope’s poetry is often studied in schools alongside the work of Wilfred Owen, simply because of that original dedication. She was not a particularly fine poet: indeed her own self-effacing sense of humour left her in no doubt as to her poetic talents. However, she remains one of the most studied female war poets of that generation, thanks almost entirely to Wilfred Owen.

It must be said that when Pope was writing her war poetry, many male war poets were almost as jingoistic and fervent as she was in their messages and content. John McCrae, Rupert Brooke and Julian Grenfell, for example, were among the soldier-poets who wrote of the glories of war during its early stages. It seems, therefore, unfair to criticise Jessie Pope for repeating similar sentiments to these great names: a more justified commentary would be that their poetry is, quite simply better than hers.

Another censure which could be aimed at Pope, as opposed to the soldier-poets of the time, is that she was asking others to fight on her behalf, or as Helen Hamilton put it in The Jingo Woman:

“Can’t you see it isn’t decent,
To flout and goad men into doing,
What is not asked of you.”

However in this aspect, Jessie Pope was not alone. Many non-combatants of both sexes, wrote in the same tone throughout the war, including such literary giants as Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy and Henry Newbolt.

It is really quite unreasonable to judge Pope’s poetry against that of Wilfred Owen: they are poets of different times. Pope wrote no war poetry after 1916; Owen only really began writing in this genre in 1917. Indeed, when we examine how Owen himself was writing at the beginning of the conflict, we discover that in The Ballad of Purchase Money, written in the autumn of 1914, he had written:

“O meet it is and passing sweet
To live in peace with others,
But sweeter still and far more meet
To die in war for brothers.”

Not only does this poem resonate with some of his later Latin tags which he used in Dulce et Decorum Est, it also reflects Owen’s feelings at the time, which would naturally change with his experiences. It must also be said that, in common with some of Pope’s verses, this particular poem simply isn’t very good.

By 1917, Owen was perfectly entitled to feel angry towards those at home who continued to perpetuate “The Old Lie”. However it is just as well that he decided, or was persuaded, to amend and then delete his personal dedication to Jessie Pope, since he would have been criticising her for the content of poems written two years prior to him writing Dulce et Decorum Est and indeed these were views which he can be shown to have shared.

Pope’s poetry is certainly not the greatest of her genre, but she did not claim to be great, or particularly talented. Nonetheless, within the context of that brief period of time at the beginning of the war, her poetry was popular and does provide us with a window into a world which, from a 21st century perspective, seems difficult to understand and appreciate. We should not criticise her for her opinions when they were, quite obviously, shared by many of her contemporaries and we certainly should not judge her just because Wilfred Owen chose to vilify her, despite his own previously held, but all-too-easily forgotten opinions.

John McCrae

Written by Lawrance, W on 30th November, 2011. Posted in Poet Biographies.

Born on 30th November, John McCrae was the second son of Ontario-based Lieutenant-General David McCrae and his wife Janet Simpson Eckford. John’s early education took place at the Central Public School and then at Guelph Collegiate Institute, where he took his first steps into the military, joining the Highland Cadet Corps at the age of fourteen. Academically, John was a high achiever and was the first student from the town of Guelph to be awarded a scholarship to the University of Toronto.

In 1892, ill-health forced McCrae to take a whole year out of university and this recurring asthma would plague him intermittently for the remainder of his life. During this year, he met and formed a close attachment to the 18-year old sister of one of his friends, but she tragically died before the relationship could really develop. When McCrae returned to Toronto in 1893, he was relieved to leave this troubled time behind and resume his studies. McCrae completed a BA in Natural Sciences, before commencing his medical training, qualifying as a doctor in 1898, at the age of twenty-six, when he graduated at the top of his class. Within a year, McCrae had joined his older brother, Thomas, working at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

In 1899, McCrae was awarded a fellowship in Pathology at McGill University in Montreal, but postponed this in order to enlist in the Army and participate in the Boer War. He joined D Battery of the Royal Canadian Artillery, sailing for South Africa on January 20th 1900. Once arrived, McCrae was caught up in some fierce fighting, but also visited a military hospital, where he found the conditions to be quite appalling. In 1901, McCrae was promoted to Captain and his unit returned to Canada, where he was praised for his conduct. In 1902, he was again promoted, to the rank of Major, finally resigning his commission two years later.

Once back in Canada, McCrae had resumed his position at McGill University and also undertook a year of study in Britain before gaining his qualifications from the Royal College of Physicians, enabling him to set up his own practice in Montreal in 1905. Years of professional success and recognition followed, but this was not mirrored in McCrae’s personal life and despite several romances, this eligible bachelor never married.

McCrae made several visits to Europe during this time and was on board a ship bound for England when the First World War was declared. Canada swiftly followed Great Britain in declaring war on Germany and McCrae sent home a telegram offering his services to the Canadian Forces, either as a doctor, or an artillery officer. Arriving back in Canada in September 1914, he was appointed Brigade Surgeon with his old rank of Major.

McCrae set sail for England again on October 3rd 1914, taking with him a horse named Bonfire. Upon arrival, he spent several months in training before embarking for France in February 1915, where he took part in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle. Then in April 1915, McCrae’s unit was moved to the Ypres Salient, where the Germans first employed chlorine gas. In the Second Battle of Ypres, over 60% of the Canadian troops who participated were either killed or wounded.

On May 2nd, one of McCrae’s close friends, Lieutenant Alex Helmer was killed by shellfire. McCrae took charge of a hastily convened funeral service that saw Helmer buried in a make-shift grave just behind the lines, where wild poppies were beginning to flower between the growing number of wooden crosses. This scene, coupled with his feelings, inspired McCrae to write his poem In Flanders Fields, which was reputedly composed the following day.

As the fighting continued through the summer, McCrae was transferred to the Canadian Army Medical Corps and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He was made Chief of Medical Services at No 3 Canadian General Hospital near Boulogne.

In Flanders Fields was published anonymously in Punch Magazine on 8th December 1915 and was an instant success, touching the hearts of millions. However, such a long period of service in France was beginning to take its toll on McCrae’s health. After the Battle of the Somme, he was hospitalised at Wimereux, suffering from severe asthma attacks. He had a short period of leave in England, but was back in France in time to treat the wounded from the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917.

There followed a summer of very heavy fighting at Passchendaele and, once again, McCrae’s health faltered, until in January 1918 he diagnosed himself as suffering from pneumonia, whereupon he was hospitalised at the Number 14 British General Hospital for Officers. On January 24th it was announced that McCrae had been awarded the position of Consulting Physician to the First British Army, but unfortunately his health continued to deteriorate and four days later, on January 28th 1918, John McCrae died.

He was buried with full military honours at Wimereux Cemetery, with his funeral attended by an impressive list of senior officers, including General Sir Arthur William Currie, the Commander of Canadian Forces, as well as his fellow surgeons and over seventy-five nurses.

The History of the Poppy Appeal

Written by Lawrance, W on 30th November, 2008. Posted in Background, Featured Posts.

On 2nd May 1915, one of McCrae’s close friends, Lieutenant Alex Helmer was hit by a shell and killed. In the absence of a chaplain, McCrae took charge of the hastily convened funeral service and Helmer was buried in a make-shift grave just behind the lines. Wild poppies were beginning to flower between the growing number of wooden crosses, and it is thought that this sight and the feelings he experienced, provided McCrae with the inspiration for his poem In Flanders Fields, which was reputedly written the following day.

It was published anonymously in Punch on 8th December 1915, and was an instant success, touching the hearts of millions, with its message that the deaths of so many should not be allowed to take place in vain. In 1918, an American YMCA worker and teacher, Moina Michael, came across a copy of this poem and was particularly moved by its message. When Moina was presented with a cheque for $10 by delegates attending a conference in the YMCA building she used this money to buy twenty-five red poppies to give out to the attending delegates. Moina considered that, because the money used to buy these poppies was a donation, she was responsible for the first sale of poppies to commemorate the dead of Flanders.

In 1921, Madame Guérin, who had become known as ‘The Poppy Lady from France’, visited Earl Haig to persuade him to help with the adoption of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance in Great Britain. He agreed and then used his influence as former Commander in Chief of British Forces, to help amalgamate several veterans associations, thus forming the British Legion.

The first official Legion Poppy Day was on the 11th November 1921. In 1922, the Poppy Factory was established, its aim being to allow the disabled to manufacture poppies for the appeal. The Factory, at Richmond in Surrey, still exists and today and over 70% of the workers there are disabled or suffer from chronic illness. The British Legion was granted its ‘Royal’ designation in 1971 and now produces over 34 million poppies every year, raising annually in excess of £21 million. The poppy is used across the world to commemorate the dead, and assist those affected by war.

This remarkable achievement is due to the hard work and dedication of many thousands of volunteers, who work tirelessly, year after year, to raise funds. In acknowledging their efforts, one must also remember the inspiration of fifteen lines of poetry, written in a very different world, nearly one hundred years ago, on a warm spring morning in 1915, by John McCrae.