​​There are eight Second World War burials within the cemetery, two members of the Royal Air Force and Six men of the Royal Artillery, British Army. All but one were killed during the Battle of France and the British withdrawal in May 1940.

​For Canadians, this cemetery holds significance and one man who is buried within it has shaped the way that we remember the war dead of both the First and Second World War.

​That man is Lieutenant Colonel John McCrea, Canadian Army Medical. Whilst serving in the field, 1915, close to the frontline in Ypres, Belgium he wrote a poem. The poem was titled ‘In Flanders Fields’.

​During the First World War, Canadian men had volunteered to come to Europe to stop the advance of Imperial German forces, with Germany defeated in 1918. 650,000 Canadian men stepped forward with 66,000 giving their lives for freedom and a further 1720,000 were wounded. McCrea’s poem epitomised this sacrifice of the Canadian people and experience.

​21 years later, Canadian forces once again volunteered to head to Europe to stand up to Nazi Germany and eventually liberate the continent. They returned to this area and liberated the French town where John McCrea is buried. Over 45,000 Canadians were killed during the Second World War.

​His poem is widely used in remembrance services in both Canada and the UK. It’s wider context now compels us to think of the sacrifice during both wars of those who lost their lives fighting for our freedoms. The poem is used by many schools as an educational tool to help students engage in the history of both wars and their impact.

​John McCrea is buried in Plot IV, Row H, Grave 3.​