They met each other again a number of years later in London at the Coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953. Cosgrave stated that his friend Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae wrote the poem "In Flanders Fields" on a scrap of paper resting on Cosgrave's back during a lull in the bombings on May 3, 1915, the day after McCrae had witnessed the death of his friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer. The poem was first published on December 8 that year in the London-based magazine "Punch". Cosgrave unveiled the Colonel John McCrae Memorial, at Boezinge, Ypres, West Flanders, on October 5, 1963. Cosgrave wrote "Afterthoughts of Armageddon, the gamut of emotions produced by the war, pointing to a moral that is not too obvious", published 1919 by his wife Beryl (née Hunter Jones), Toronto. Cosgrave's service to Canada continued after the war in various consular posts in Asia; and in the 1950s, his diplomatic career continued in European consular posts. For instance, he was Chargé d'Affaires in Portugal from 1952 through 1955. On July 28, 1971, Cosgrave died at his home in Knowlton (Eastern Townships), province of Quebec .