CCI Newsletter, No. 22, November 1998

The McCrae Medals: Reviving the Memory

by Tom Stone, Senior Conservator, Objects

Major John McCrae was a Canadian medical officer in the Second Battle of Ypres in May 1915. Deeply saddened by the death of his close friend Lieutenant Alexis Helmer (who was killed by a shell burst on May 2, 1915), McCrae composed In Flanders Fields. The poem gained almost instant popularity; to this day it is an internationally recognized symbol of sacrifice and renewal in times of war, and his image of the blood red poppy remains the universal symbol of remembrance. But the author did not survive the war. Exhausted by the overwork, continuing devastation, and unhealthy conditions at the front, McCrae died of pneumonia and meningitis on January 28, 1918. His World War I medals were issued posthumously to his family. In October 1997, 79 years after his death, McCrae's medals were auctioned in Toronto. Purchased for more than $500,000 by Arthur Lee, a local businessman, the new owner magnanimously donated them to McCrae House (boyhood home of John McCrae, and part of the Guelph Museums). In April 1998, CCI was asked to undertake the conservation of these medals and to build a display mount for them. To work on objects of such significance to Canada was an exciting prospect. Four medals and two medallions arrived at CCI: the Queen's South Africa Medal with two bars (McCrae had served in the Boer War in 1900), the 1914–1915 Star, the British War Medal, the Allied Victory Medal, a Toronto Welcome Home medallion (issued to returning veterans of the Boer War by the City of Toronto), and a World War I Memorial Plaque (issued to families who had lost a member as a result of the war). With the exception of the Toronto Welcome Home medallion, which is quite rare, all the medals were common issues that were presented to most servicemen of the Boer War and World War I. The special significance of these medals was the name John McCrae engraved around their edges. The medals were in relatively good condition. The silver ones (the South Africa Medal and the British War Medal) showed moderate to heavy silver sulphide tarnish in recessed areas and around the legends but the fields were bright with only moderate scratching. Old metal polish residue was present in all these areas as well as in the stamped McCrae name around the edges. The two remaining medals and the two medallions were of copper alloys of various kinds; they displayed stable patinas ranging from a very lightly oxidized and fairly bright surface on the 1914–1915 Star to a beautifully even, dark chocolate brown patina on the Toronto Welcome Home medallion.

Much of the cleaning of McCrae medals was done under a microscope. The Medals and mount after treatment. The ribbons being attached.

The silver medals were cleaned using a slurry of calcium carbonate powder and distilled water, much of the work being done under a microscope. The surface of the 1914–1915 Star was also polished slightly with calcium carbonate. All three medals were then washed with a nonionic detergent in distilled water, rinsed, and degreased with acetone. Finally they were given a protective coat of wax to slow down future tarnishing, and buffed to a high polish. The remaining copper alloy medal and medallions were washed and degreased in the same manner, but no protective wax was necessary as the stable patinas that had developed would protect them from further tarnish.

With the exception of the Queen's South Africa Medal, all the ribbons were probably replacements. They had been passed through the hangers on the medals and were not stitched or finished in any way; they were of different lengths, the edges were fraying in some places, and they were somewhat creased. Protocol requires that the length from the bottom of a medal to the top of the ribbon be four inches. Renée Dancause of CCI's Textiles laboratory steamed three of the four ribbons to relax the creases, duly folded them to the appropriate length, and placed them through special clips that had been provided by the Honors and Awards Unit of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The display mount was constructed by Bob Barclay of the Objects laboratory. Plexiglas was used rather than wood to avoid off-gassing problems that might lead to further tarnishing of the medals. Recesses to hold the Toronto Welcome Medallion and the Memorial Plaque were machined into the thick Plexiglas, and holes were drilled through it in the appropriate locations to tie the medals in place. The mount was then covered with dark burgundy nylon velvet that had been supplied by McCrae House. The medallion and the plaque were fitted into their recesses where they were held in place by means of pressure; the four medals were tied in place with nylon monofilament line which is essentially invisible.

The mount was designed to be displayed at a 45-degree angle in the museum but was built in such a way that the portion holding the medals can be detached and placed flat with a small Plexiglas lid. This allows the medals to be displayed in locations outside McCrae House in response to the demand in many parts of Ontario.

The medals were returned to their permanent home at McCrae House in time for a May 2 dedication ceremony.

Introduced to In Flanders Fields as school children, many staff had an interest in McCrae's medals and made a special effort to view them while they were at CCI. For those of us who had the honour to work on these medals, the poem we hear and the red poppy we wear will now hold an even greater significance as we ‘remember' each November 11.