Church of Our Lady Immaculate steps and front terrace of the Guelph Civic Museum to watch as the Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae statue was unveiled in honour of the 100th anniversary of his world-renowned poem In Flanders Fields.
On the bright and sunny morning of June 25 the Governor General of Canada David Johnston, chair of the statue committee honorary Colonel Michael McKay and honorary committee chair William Winegard spoke about the Guelph poet and the statue process.
The double life-sized statue was commissioned by the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery to Wellesley sculptor Ruth Abernethy.
An identical bronze sculpture at the National Artillery Memorial in Ottawa was unveiled on May 3 on the 100th anniversary of In Flanders Fields. Castaway Foundry in Erin cast both statues.
The piece, titled Remember Flanders, shows McCrae the moment after he finished writing In Flanders Fields on May 3, 1915. It includes the poem in its entirety on the paper resting on McCrae’s knee.
A First World War physician and Guelph native, McCrae wrote the poem after the death of two officers, one his best friend, in the Second Battle of Ypres in Belgium.
“Dr. John McCrae was almost beside himself with grief and exhaustion, absolute exhaustion,” Winegard said in his speech.
Johnston too reflected on the poem and the man.
“Today thanks to his famous poem the poppy is a worldwide symbol of remembrance,” he said. “But John McCrae himself is symbolic of something else entirely, the terrible waste of human life and potential that was the First World War.”
Winegard said it’s fitting for the city of Guelph to honour the poet.
“He was a soldier, a soldier from Guelph. He was a doctor, a doctor from Guelph. He was a poet and a humanitarian from Guelph and it is appropriate that this city today honour his memory,” said Winegard.
“He stood for everything that was good even in that terrible, terrible time.
“We honour him today, the man from Guelph.”
It was a four-year process to move the McCrae statues from conception to completion, explained McKay.
Before any fundraising could take place the artist had to be chosen, he said. Eighty-five artists from across Canada expressed interest in designing the statue and the committee chose seven to shortlist then two were asked to submit casts.
On Remembrance Day 2012 Abernethy was chosen as the artisan and in June 2013 the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery labeled the statue project a top priority until May 2015.
The Guelph statue was funded completely through private donations, explained Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie. He said it was the funding committee headed by Winegard that made the commission possible.
One of the major contributors was the Rotary Club of Guelph with a pledge to contribute $100,000 to the statue.
“The statue is appropriately placed as the highest point in our downtown,” Guthrie said. “It overlooks a spectacular new garden here at the Guelph Civic Museum and it will be a focal point for visitors for generations to come.”
Johnston reflected on McCrae’s life.
“It’s remarkable that a poem written near the front lines on a scrap of paper should have survived the First World War when its author and millions of others did not,” he said.
“It’s remarkable that John McCrae, the native son of Guelph, should be remembered today for a single 15-line rondeau rather than for his skills as a doctor.”
He noted McCrae is regarded as the most talented physician of his generation.
“As much as I love In Flanders Fields for its poignant message of remembrance I regret he had occasion to write it,” Johnston said. “War means we have failed to resolve our differences by other means and when we fail, real people pay a terrible price. Real people like John McCrae.”
