In Flanders Fields Memorial and Essex Farm Cemetery

Memorial column high on the canal embankment of the Ypres-Yzer Canal, adjacent to Essex Farm Cemetery, erected in memory of the British '49th (West Riding) Division', which mainly consisted of men from Northern England. This division arrived at the front in Ypres in May 1915. The various places where the 49th Division fought during the First World War are listed on the monument in chronological order. The banks of the Ypres-Yzer Canal played an important role for this division, especially in the last months of 1915.

The 1st Aid Station bunkers, also known as the “Advanced Dressing Station” in Boezinge, are historic concrete shelters used by the British Army during the First World War. These bunkers served as dressing stations and battalion headquarters, where wounded soldiers received first aid before being transferred to larger medical facilities.
One of the most remarkable aspects of this location is that it was here that Canadian military doctor John McCrae wrote his famous poem “In Flanders Fields” in 1915. After the war, the shelters were temporarily used as emergency housing by the local population.

The plaque for John McCrae’s famous poem “In Flanders Fields” is located near the Advanced Dressing Station in Boezinge, where McCrae wrote the poem in 1915. The plaque commemorates the Canadian military doctor and poet, and his iconic poem describing the horrors of the First World War and the sacrifices of the soldiers. The poem has become a symbol of remembrance for the fallen, and the poppy, which is mentioned in the poem, has become an international symbol of remembrance.