British Legion spells 'In Flanders Fields' poem in poppies

Royal British Legion
Alexandra Richards27 October 2017

The Royal British Legion has recreated the famous John McCrae poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ by placing poppies in a field to spell out lines from the poem.

Drone footage offers a bird’s eye view of the poem which is dotted in seven locations around the UK, including Dunkirk and the white cliffs of Dover.

The Royal British Legion has said that by recreating the poem, it aims to “bring ‘In Flanders Fields’ into the modern day consciousness”.

The organisation said that it wants to encourage people to “rethink remembrance”.

Mcrae wrote the poem after poppies began to bloom on the battle fields of the First World War.

The poppy has since become a symbol of hope and has been used as part of the British Legion’s ‘Poppy Appeal’, where individuals can buy paper poppies to raise money for the Armed Forces Community.

The lines of the poem are located at Royal Hospital Chelsea in London, on Dunkirk Beach, on the White Cliffs of Dover, at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, in Cardiff Bay, at Salford Quays in Manchester and outside the Sage in Gateshead.

The individual letters of the poem in the fields are made of clusters of poppies. This gives the impression that the poem has grown out of the ground, bringing new perspective and meaning to the words.

The Royal British Legion’s Director of Fundraising Claire Rowcliffe said: “The work of the Legion is as relevant and vital today as it was in the aftermath of the First World War when the charity was founded.”

She said: “The donation for your poppy will help the Legion support today’s Armed Forces community through hardships, injury and bereavements.”

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