On Thursday 16th November 2018, we visited John McCrae’s farm, as well as the Essex Farm Cemetery, where one of the youngest British casualties of the Great War is buried. Young Rifleman Valentine Joe Strudwick was aged only 15 when he died in 1916. This resonated with us because a lot us are of a very similar age to the young boy. We could not imagine being in such a situation at our age and we felt deeply for this casualty.
We also explored the concrete shelters situated just left of the cemetery, these shelters would be used as ADS (Advanced Dressing Stations). These posts provided protection against artillery fire and bombing and allowed for an area in which the soldiers could be medicated, bandaged and assisted in a somewhat protected environment.
As this was the area in which “In Flanders Fields” was written, we felt it appropriate to provide a choral speaking of the poem within the concrete shelters.
We also felt it appropriate to deliver another short poem entitled “A Soldier”.