McGill’s handwritten copies of ‘In Flanders Fields’ recognized by UNESCO program ahead of Remembrance Day

McGill’s handwritten copies of In Flanders Fields honoured as documentary heritage of outstanding value (photo: McGill University)

Nearly a week before Remembrance Day, four handwritten copies of John McCrae’s iconic poem “In Flanders Fields,” preserved at McGill University, have been recognized as documentary heritage of “outstanding universal value.”

The manuscripts were officially added this month to the Canadian Commission for UNESCO’s (CCUNESCO) Canada Memory of the World Register, which showcases the most significant documents of the country’s heritage.

The program was launched internationally by UNESCO, or the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in 1992.

“‘In Flanders Fields’ continues to move hearts around the world, reminding us of the human cost of war and the enduring power of compassion,” said H. Deep Saini, president and vice-chancellor of McGill University.

“The inclusion of these manuscripts in CCUNESCO’s Memory of the World Register honours both McCrae’s legacy and McGill’s lasting contributions to medical innovation and care.”

The documents are preserved at McGill’s Osler Library of the History of Medicine.

McCrae, a McGill professor and physician, served in the First World War as part of No. 3 Canadian General Hospital, a unit organized by the university. Written during the Battle of Ypres, his poem captured the despair and loss of wartime while inspiring the red poppy as a global symbol of remembrance.

Guylaine Beaudry, McGill’s Trenholme Dean of Libraries, called the manuscripts “among the most meaningful treasures in McGill’s collections.”

“Through preservation and digitization, McGill Libraries make these fragile manuscripts accessible to all — allowing anyone, anywhere, to turn the pages of history and experience words that continue to resonate more than a century later,” Beaudry said.

Among the four copies is a version McCrae sent to a friend, Carleton Noyes, on May 31, 1916. That version includes a small but intriguing difference from the published poem: the first line ends with the word “grow” instead of “blow,” possibly suggesting McCrae revisited the piece after it became famous.

The other three versions were copied by McCrae’s colleagues in the Canadian Army Medical Corps — Andrew Macphail, Clare Gass and Edward William Archibald — and are preserved in their personal diaries and correspondence.

David Schimpky, director of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO’s Secretariat, said recognizing “In Flanders Fields” through the register reflects the poem’s deep national and international significance.

“These copies, one written in McCrae’s own hand, highlight the humanity behind this now-iconic poem,” Schimpky said.

“‘In Flanders Fields’ has had a profound influence on the commemoration of war in Canada and beyond. It is fitting that it be recognized in alignment with Remembrance Day.”

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