In Flanders fields poppies blow, between the crosses, row on row

In Flanders Fields the poppies  still grow  on former World War One frontline and no man’s land between trenches

(Browse the collection : Hainaut Province stock footage videos, time lapses and cinematic shots)

One of the most poignant reminders of World War I is the moving poem, ” In Flanders Fields “, written by John McCrae, a Canadian army doctor. During WW1, much of the fighting took place in Western Europe. The countryside was blasted, bombed and fought over repeatedly. Previously beautiful landscapes turned to mud; bleak and barren scenes where little or nothing could grow. The origins of the remembrance poppy are to be found in this poem. On the otherwise barren front, where thousands of soldiers had recently perished, he saw vast numbers of poppies blossoming. For the poppy has many aspects to it: irrepressible yet ephemeral, wilting but also uplifting. It is a vulnerable flower, on the borderline between ode and elegy. For McCrae, the poppy kept alive the memory of a young generation that was nipped in the bud before it could bloom. His words touch a chord with a great many readers. History lovers have recently recreated a small trench near the edge of the woods, in a section of the no man’s land located in the countryside of Warneton and Ploegsteert, south of Ypres. Each spring poppies still grow on this former part of the Western Front battlefield.

(Read more : Flanders Fields)