When the UK declared war on Germany at the start of World War I, Canada declared war as well. John
McCrae was a field surgeon in the Canadian artillery and was in charge of a field hospital during the 2nd Battle of
Ypres in 1915.
McCrae's friend and former student, Lt. Alexis Helmer, was killed in the battle. His burial inspired In Flanders Fields,
which was written on May 3, 1915 and first published in the magazine Punch.