History Imprint

Mystery surrounds the enlistment of Private Gerald Henry Joyce. He was born in London to Elizabeth Joyce on 24 September 1884, and perished at 26 Casualty Clearing Station on 18 December 1918, aged 34 years. He will forever be remembered

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.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

John McCrae (1872–1918)

The V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission World War I cemetery and memorial. It lies west of the village of Fromelles and contains the remains of more than 400 soldiers whose bodies were recovered two years after the armistice from the battlefield.