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G H I J K L
M N O P Q R
S T U V W X
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 The Great War 1914-1918, and Associated Conflicts
   Biography and Autobiography
     Canadian Soldiers



RCC7785


A Crown of Life. The World of John McCrae

by Dianne Graves  

ISBN
1873376863

Purchase Price
£5.00 (second hand)

Date Purchased
March 21, 2019

Publisher
Spellmount Limited (1997, Staplehurst, Kent)

Notes
In her Preface, the author protests that this book was not intended to be a biography; yet that is exactly what it is, and a good one to boot. This is the story of a young man from an immigrant Scottish family, who grew up in (then) small town Canada, and generally excelled at what he did, especially his chosen career of medicine, although from an early age he was also an accomplished amateur poet. He served with the Empire forces in the South African War, and following the outbreak of the First World War he found himself in France in 1915 with one of the first Canadian contingents. There he composed the poem which stands, over all others, for the futility of the conflict: "In Flanders' Fields". This is a well written and at times moving story of an honourable man.