Hundreds of Guelph residents recently came out to witness the unveiling of a new monument, as well as to pay homage to one of the city’s best known sons.
The statue, which was designed and created by artist Ruth Abernathy, was of Lt. Col. John McCrae, who penned the well-known poem “In Flanders Fields” while he was serving in Ypres, Belgium, during World War One. As well as McCrae sitting on a fallen tree, it depicts the poppies that grew on the battlefields.
The piece was commissioned by the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery, and commemorates the 100th anniversary of the date that the poem was written.
The crowd that had assembled to mark the occasion outside of the Guelph Civic Museum included the Governor General and the city’s mayor, who both helped to unveil the piece to the public. It depicts the Colonel leaning against the stump of a tree with a notebook in his hand as he writes. Stationery printers can also help to mark such an event by producing programs that describe the piece and the artist who created it, as well as giving the story behind the sculpture.
According to World War Two veteran and former MP William Winegard, the statue is very appropriate as it makes the written piece its focus. Col. McCrae was born in Guelph in the year 1872.Get a Free Quote for Stationery
