IkhSain:
'''Alexis Hannum Helmer''' (b 29 June 1892, Hull, Quebec, Canada - d 2 May 1915, Ypres, Belgium) was killed in battle during the [[World War I|Great War]] while serving with the 2nd Battery, 1st Brigade, [[Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery|Canadian Field Artillery]]. He is known as being part of the inspiration for ''[[In Flanders Fields]]'' through his friendship with [[John McCrae]].
==Life==
He was born 29 June 1892, Hull, Quebec, Canada, <ref>https://ift.tt/2PXtVvq> the son of Brigadier General R. A. Helmer and Elizabeth I. Helmer, of Gilmour Street, [[Ottawa]], Ontario, Canada. <ref>https://ift.tt/2ReXxBn>
He attended [[Ottawa Collegiate Institute]], a high school in Ottawa, Ontario. He was later an engineer. <ref>https://ift.tt/2PXtVvq>
==Great War and Death==
He enlisted August 27, 1914 in the Canadian Field Artillery. <ref>https://ift.tt/2PXtVvq>
He was killed in the [[Second Battle of Ypres]] on 2 May 1915. <ref>https://ift.tt/2ReXxBn> From the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, <ref>https://ift.tt/2ReXxBn> :"The following circumstances of his death have been compiled from letters received by Lieut Owen Carsley Frederic Hague's father, Frederic Hague from officers in the area at the time. Early on Sunday morning, May 2, 1915 Lieutenants' Hague and Helmer left their position to check on a Canadian Battery who had positioned themselves on the bank of the Yser Canal near St. Julien close to the France-Belgium border. They had only gone a few yards when a six inch, high explosive canon shell burst. Lieutenant Helmer was killed instantly."
==In Flanders Fields==
"'''In Flanders Fields'''" is a [[war poet|war poem]] in the form of a [[rondeau (forme fixe)|rondeau]], written during the [[World War I|First World War]] by Canadian physician [[Lieutenant Colonel (Canada)|Lieutenant-Colonel]] [[John McCrae]]. He was inspired to write it on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of friend and fellow soldier Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, at which time he noted how [[Poppy (flower)|poppies]] quickly grew around the graves of those who died at Ypres. The next day, he composed the poem while sitting in the back of an ambulance at an Advanced Dressing Station outside Ypres.<ref></ref> This location is today known as the [[Site John McCrae|John McCrae Memorial Site]].
Cyril Allinson was a [[sergeant major]] in McCrae's unit. While delivering the brigade's mail, he watched McCrae as he worked on the poem, noting that McCrae's eyes periodically returned to Helmer's grave as he wrote. When handed the notepad, Allinson read the poem and was so moved he immediately committed it to memory. He described it as being "almost an exact description of the scene in front of us both".<ref name="Leader-Post1968">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> According to legend, McCrae was not satisfied with his work. It is said he crumpled the paper and threw it away.<ref name="JournalOpinion2006">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> It was retrieved by a fellow member of his unit, either [[Edward Whipple Bancroft Morrison|Edward Morrison]] or J. M. Elder,<ref name="AustralianArmy"></ref> or Allinson.<ref name="JournalOpinion2006" /> McCrae was convinced to submit the poem for publication.<ref name="Prescott96"></ref> An early copy of the poem is found in the diary of Clare Gass, who was serving with McCrae as a battlefield nurse, in an entry dated October 30, 1915—nearly six weeks before the poem’s first publication in the magazine ''Punch'' on December 8, 1915.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref>
Another story of the poem's origin claimed that Helmer's funeral was held on the morning of May 2, after which McCrae wrote the poem in 20 minutes. A third claim, by Morrison, was that McCrae worked on the poem as time allowed between arrivals of wounded soldiers in need of medical attention.<ref></ref> Regardless of its true origin, McCrae worked on the poem for months before considering it ready for publication.<ref></ref> He submitted it to ''[[The Spectator]]'' in London but it was rejected. It was then sent to ''Punch'', where it was published on December 8, 1915.<ref name="Prescott96" /> It was published anonymously, but ''Punch'' attributed the poem to McCrae in its year-end index.<ref></ref>
==Memorial==
A memorial is dedicated to the memory of Lieutenant Alexis Hannum Helmer who was killed in action during the Great War and was part of the inspiration for ''[[In Flanders Fields]]'' in the Memorial Hall of his high school alma mater [[Lisgar Collegiate Institute]] in Ottawa, Ontario. Unveiled in 2001, the plaque was erected by the Lisgar Alumni Association.<ref></ref>
He is also memorialised on Panel 10 of The [[Menin Gate]] Memorial.<ref>https://ift.tt/2ReXxBn>
Commemorated on Page 18 of the First World War Book of Remembrance in the Peace Tower, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. <ref>https://ift.tt/2ReXxBn>
==References==
==External links==
* [https://ift.tt/2PV3Mxu Alexis Hannum Helmer - Canadian Virtual War Memorial]
* [https://ift.tt/2ReXENj Alexis Hannum Helmer - Canadian Great War Project]
* [https://ift.tt/2Q0ICyc Photo Alexis Hannum Helmer - Imperial War Museum]
* [https://ift.tt/2ReXFkl Alexis Hannum Helmer - Find-A-Grave]
[[Category:1892 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:Lisgar Collegiate Institute]]
[[Category:Military history of Canada]]
[[Category:Canadian Army officers]]
[[Category:People from Ottawa]]
[[Category:Canadian military personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Canadian military personnel killed in World War I]]
==Life==
He was born 29 June 1892, Hull, Quebec, Canada, <ref>https://ift.tt/2PXtVvq> the son of Brigadier General R. A. Helmer and Elizabeth I. Helmer, of Gilmour Street, [[Ottawa]], Ontario, Canada. <ref>https://ift.tt/2ReXxBn>
He attended [[Ottawa Collegiate Institute]], a high school in Ottawa, Ontario. He was later an engineer. <ref>https://ift.tt/2PXtVvq>
==Great War and Death==
He enlisted August 27, 1914 in the Canadian Field Artillery. <ref>https://ift.tt/2PXtVvq>
He was killed in the [[Second Battle of Ypres]] on 2 May 1915. <ref>https://ift.tt/2ReXxBn> From the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, <ref>https://ift.tt/2ReXxBn> :"The following circumstances of his death have been compiled from letters received by Lieut Owen Carsley Frederic Hague's father, Frederic Hague from officers in the area at the time. Early on Sunday morning, May 2, 1915 Lieutenants' Hague and Helmer left their position to check on a Canadian Battery who had positioned themselves on the bank of the Yser Canal near St. Julien close to the France-Belgium border. They had only gone a few yards when a six inch, high explosive canon shell burst. Lieutenant Helmer was killed instantly."
==In Flanders Fields==
"'''In Flanders Fields'''" is a [[war poet|war poem]] in the form of a [[rondeau (forme fixe)|rondeau]], written during the [[World War I|First World War]] by Canadian physician [[Lieutenant Colonel (Canada)|Lieutenant-Colonel]] [[John McCrae]]. He was inspired to write it on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of friend and fellow soldier Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, at which time he noted how [[Poppy (flower)|poppies]] quickly grew around the graves of those who died at Ypres. The next day, he composed the poem while sitting in the back of an ambulance at an Advanced Dressing Station outside Ypres.<ref></ref> This location is today known as the [[Site John McCrae|John McCrae Memorial Site]].
Cyril Allinson was a [[sergeant major]] in McCrae's unit. While delivering the brigade's mail, he watched McCrae as he worked on the poem, noting that McCrae's eyes periodically returned to Helmer's grave as he wrote. When handed the notepad, Allinson read the poem and was so moved he immediately committed it to memory. He described it as being "almost an exact description of the scene in front of us both".<ref name="Leader-Post1968">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> According to legend, McCrae was not satisfied with his work. It is said he crumpled the paper and threw it away.<ref name="JournalOpinion2006">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> It was retrieved by a fellow member of his unit, either [[Edward Whipple Bancroft Morrison|Edward Morrison]] or J. M. Elder,<ref name="AustralianArmy"></ref> or Allinson.<ref name="JournalOpinion2006" /> McCrae was convinced to submit the poem for publication.<ref name="Prescott96"></ref> An early copy of the poem is found in the diary of Clare Gass, who was serving with McCrae as a battlefield nurse, in an entry dated October 30, 1915—nearly six weeks before the poem’s first publication in the magazine ''Punch'' on December 8, 1915.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref>
Another story of the poem's origin claimed that Helmer's funeral was held on the morning of May 2, after which McCrae wrote the poem in 20 minutes. A third claim, by Morrison, was that McCrae worked on the poem as time allowed between arrivals of wounded soldiers in need of medical attention.<ref></ref> Regardless of its true origin, McCrae worked on the poem for months before considering it ready for publication.<ref></ref> He submitted it to ''[[The Spectator]]'' in London but it was rejected. It was then sent to ''Punch'', where it was published on December 8, 1915.<ref name="Prescott96" /> It was published anonymously, but ''Punch'' attributed the poem to McCrae in its year-end index.<ref></ref>
==Memorial==
A memorial is dedicated to the memory of Lieutenant Alexis Hannum Helmer who was killed in action during the Great War and was part of the inspiration for ''[[In Flanders Fields]]'' in the Memorial Hall of his high school alma mater [[Lisgar Collegiate Institute]] in Ottawa, Ontario. Unveiled in 2001, the plaque was erected by the Lisgar Alumni Association.<ref></ref>
He is also memorialised on Panel 10 of The [[Menin Gate]] Memorial.<ref>https://ift.tt/2ReXxBn>
Commemorated on Page 18 of the First World War Book of Remembrance in the Peace Tower, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. <ref>https://ift.tt/2ReXxBn>
==References==
==External links==
* [https://ift.tt/2PV3Mxu Alexis Hannum Helmer - Canadian Virtual War Memorial]
* [https://ift.tt/2ReXENj Alexis Hannum Helmer - Canadian Great War Project]
* [https://ift.tt/2Q0ICyc Photo Alexis Hannum Helmer - Imperial War Museum]
* [https://ift.tt/2ReXFkl Alexis Hannum Helmer - Find-A-Grave]
[[Category:1892 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:Lisgar Collegiate Institute]]
[[Category:Military history of Canada]]
[[Category:Canadian Army officers]]
[[Category:People from Ottawa]]
[[Category:Canadian military personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Canadian military personnel killed in World War I]]
from Wikipedia - New pages [en] https://ift.tt/2PTTvBD
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment