<P> McCrae was moved to the medical corps and stationed in Boulogne, France, in June 1915 where he was promoted to Lieutenant - Colonel and placed in charge of medicine at the Number 3 Canadian General Hospital . He was promoted to the acting rank of Colonel on January 13, 1918 and named Consulting Physician to the British Armies in France . The years of war had worn McCrae down, he contracted pneumonia that day and later came down with cerebral meningitis . On January 28, 1918, he died at the military hospital in Wimereux and was buried there with full military honours . A book of his works, featuring "In Flanders Fields", was published the following year . </P> <P> "In Flanders Fields" is very popular in Canada, where it is a staple of Remembrance Day ceremonies and may be the most well known literary piece among English Canadians . It has an official French adaptation, entitled "Au champ d'honneur", written by Jean Pariseau and used by the Canadian government in French and bilingual ceremonies . With an excerpted appearance on the ten - dollar bill from 2001 to 2013, the Royal Canadian Mint has released poppy - themed quarters on several occasions . A version minted in 2004 featured a red poppy in the centre and is considered the first multi-coloured circulation coin in the world . To mark the poem's centennial in 2015, a coloured and uncoloured poppy quarter and a "toonie" ($2 coin) were issued as circulation coins, as well as other collector coins . Among its uses in popular culture, the line "to you from failing hands we throw the torch, be yours to hold it high" has served as a motto for the Montreal Canadiens hockey club since 1940 . </P> <P> Canada Post honoured the 50th anniversary of John McCrae's death with a stamp in 1968 and marked the centennial of his famous poem in 2015 . Other Canadian stamps have featured the poppy, including ones in 1975, 2001, 2009, 2013 and 2014 . Other postal authorities have employed the poppy as a symbol of remembrance, including those of Australia, Gibraltar, the United Kingdom and United States . </P> <P> McCrae's birthplace in Guelph, Ontario has been converted into a museum dedicated to his life and the war . McCrae was named a National Historic Person in 1946, and his house was listed as a National Historic Site in 1966 . </P>

What was the poem in flanders fields about