“In Flanders fields the poppies blow between the crosses, row on row, that mark our place; and in the sky the larks, still bravely singing, fly scarce heard amid the guns below.”
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So begins John McCrae’s poem, In Flanders fields.
Outside the central Victorian cardiology department at St John of God Bendigo Hospital is a steel poppy, donated to the hospital’s patients, caregivers and visitors in remembrance of loved ones and family members who served and gave the ultimate sacrifice in Australia’s defence.
Ian Phillips and Alan Smith, of the Bendigo District RSL Sub Branch sheds program, spent more than 50 hours creating the poppy.
The symbol of remembrance was fashioned out of recycled steel and off-cuts.
It was then powder-coated to resemble the red poppies that sprung up on battlefields of the First World War.
St John of God Bendigo Hospital Department of Veterans Affairs liaison officer and Bendigo District RSL secretary Lisa Gellatly said the sheds program involved metal, wood and wrought iron work.
Other activities include oil painting, computing and leadlighting.
Emma D'Agostino
Covering general news and Bendigo council.
Covering general news and Bendigo council.
