The Act of Remembrance ‘What does Remembrance Day mean to you’. November 9, 2022

The Act of Remembrance

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

“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.”

– The poem written by Canadian Colonel John McCrae after he had lost good friend Lieutenant Alexis Helmer during the 2nd Battle of Ypres (22 April – 25 May 1915) in The Great War (1914-1918).

The poem – a call to action to ensure that the Allies would not betray those who gave their lives and thus ensure the Allies fought hard to become victorious in the conflict – became internationally popular. Its central theme of the Flanders poppy had that particular flower become the international symbol of remembrance for The Fallen of not only The Great War but for wars following.

The Roving Guardsman