Who wrote the poem "In Flanders Fields"?

Often heard at Remembrance Day services, the haunting poem, "In Flanders Fields" was written by the Canadian John McCrae (1872-1918).

McCrae was a man of many talents. He was also a qualified doctor, and it is on record that he helped to tutor the first women to qualify as physicians in Canada. He served as a medical officer on the front line in the First World War. However, it is for this poem that he probably is most remembered. The poem, which takes the form of a rondeau (a traditional poetic form with a strict rhyming scheme, originating in France) was first published anonymously in the magazine "Punch" in 1915. Though there is no absolute definitive proof for this, it is widely believed that it was in honour of a comrade of his who had just perished in the Second Battle of Ypres.

McCrae himself did not die in action, but of pneumonia. There have been numerous memorials and tributes to him in succeeding years, and the John McCrae Memorial Medal is awarded annually to a medic serving in the Canadian forces who deserves special recognition.