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The "Last Post" is a British andCommonwealthbugle call used at military funerals, and at ceremonies commemorating those who have died in war.
The "Last Post" is either an A or a B♭ bugle call, primarily withinBritish infantry andAustralian infantry regiments, or a D or an E♭ cavalry trumpet call inBritish cavalry andRoyal Regiment of Artillery (Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Artillery).
Its duration varies typically from a little over one minute to nearly three minutes.[1] For ceremonial use, the "Last Post" is often followed by "The Rouse", or less frequently the longer "Reveille".[2][3]
The two regimental traditions have separate music for the call.[4] While the B♭ infantry bugle version is better known, the E♭ cavalry trumpet version is used by the state trumpeters of theHousehold Cavalry.
The "First Post" call signals the start of the duty officer's inspection of aBritish Army camp'ssentry posts, sounding a call at each one. First published in the 1790s,[5] the "Last Post" call originally signalled merely that the final sentry post had been inspected, and the camp was secure for the night.[6]
Its use inRemembrance Day ceremonies inCommonwealth nations has two generally unexpressed purposes: the first is an implied summoning of the spirits of the Fallen to thecenotaph, the second is to symbolically end the day, so that the period of silence before the"Rouse" is blown becomes in effect a ritualised night vigil. The "Last Post" as sounded at the end of inspection typically lasted for about 45 seconds; when sounded ceremonially with notes held for longer, pauses extended, and the expression mournful, typical duration could be 75 seconds or more.[5]
From the 17th century, the British infantry had useddrums to make signals in camp or on the battlefield, while the cavalry usedtrumpets. The first infantry drumbeat of the day wasReveille, while the last wasTattoo. This originated with British troops stationed in theNetherlands, after the Dutch call at the end of the day,Doe den tap toe, meaning "Close the tap", a signal thatbeer taps had to be shut and that soldiers drinking outside the camp should return.[7]
The difficulty of hearing drumbeat signals over the noise of gunfire led to the gradual introduction of thebugle, an instrument used by theHanoverian Army, during the reign of KingGeorge III. The bugle was found especially useful for the mobile tactics of thelight infantry and the newly formedKing's Royal Rifle Corps in theAmerican War of Independence. A number of different systems were introduced across various parts of the army, and in 1798, James Hyde, a trumpeter in theRoyal Opera House and a trumpet-major in the localVolunteer Corps, was asked to "revise the trumpet and bugle soundings, and to reduce them to uniformity, which is hereafter to be strictly observed in all regiments and corps of cavalry in His Majesty's service".[7]
The result was published in the same year asThe Sounds for Duty and Exercise. Hyde was dissatisfied with this edition and in 1799, produced another version with an additional chapter entitled "The Bugle Horn Duty for the Light Infantry as used by theFoot Guards"; this included the first known score for the Last Post, under the title of "Setting the Watch". It is likely that Hyde used an amalgamation of existing calls; suggestions that the melody was inspired byJoseph Haydn lack any direct evidence.[7]
During the 19th century, the "Last Post" was also carried to the various countries of theBritish Empire. In all these countries, it has been incorporated into military funerals, where it is sounded as a final farewell, symbolising the fact that the duty of the dead soldier is over and that they can rest in peace.
"Last Post" is used in public ceremonials commemorating the war dead, particularly onRemembrance Day in theCommonwealth of Nations. InAustralia andNew Zealand it is also sounded onAnzac Day, usually before the two-minute silence, which concludes with "The Rouse".
When the post is sounded during services such as Anzac Day, it is required of all current serving military members to salute for the duration of the call. During services organised by theRoyal British Legion, it is expected that no salute is given during the "Last Post" and Silence, as all personnel will have removed head dress as in church service prayer, have heads bowed, weapons inverted, and flags and standards lowered.
In Ireland, the "Last Post" as with the Commonwealth is sounded during memorial services, funerals and commemorations. The difference where the Irish are concerned is that the accompaniment of drums is incorporated into the performance.
In India, Last Post is played at theAmar Jawan Jyoti onRepublic Day andKargil Vijay Diwas (KargilVictory Day).
Since 1928, the "Last Post" has been sounded every evening at 8 p.m. by buglers of the local Last Post Association at the war memorial atYpres inBelgium known as theMenin Gate, commemorating the dead at theBattle of Ypres during theFirst World War. The only exception to this was during the four years of theGerman occupation of Ypres from 20 May 1940 to 6 September 1944, when the ceremony moved toBrookwood Military Cemetery inEngland.
On the evening thatPolish forces liberated Ypres, the ceremony was resumed at theMenin Gate, in spite of the heavy fighting still going on in other parts of the town. These buglers or trumpeters, sometimes seen in fire brigade uniform, are members of the fire brigade representing the Last Post Association, who organizes the events. The Last Post Association uses both silver B♭ bugles and E♭ cavalry trumpets, with either British Army tradition being respected during services at the gate.
The Last Post ceremony has now been held more than 30,000 times. On 9 July 2015, a ceremony titledA tribute to the tribute[8] took place to commemorate the 30,000th ceremony.
The "Last Post" was incorporated into the finale ofRobert Steadman'sIn Memoriam, a choral work on the subject of remembrance. It is also incorporated intoKarl Jenkins's orchestral massThe Armed Man, and in the movement entitledSmall Town, inPeter Sculthorpe's 1963 chamber orchestra workThe Fifth Continent. A slightly altered version forms part of the slow movement of thePastoral Symphony ofRalph Vaughan Williams and the ending ofMike Sammes' choral setting ofLaurence Binyon's poemFor the Fallen.
Robert Graves's poem "The Last Post" describes a soldier's funeral duringWorld War I.Ford Madox Ford usedThe Last Post as title for part of his tetralogyParade's End.
In 2015,Lee Kernaghan recorded a version for his albumSpirit of the Anzacs.
The "Last Post" was performed in 2015 at the state funeral ofLee Kuan Yew, the founding Prime Minister ofSingapore.
The Last Post is the title of a theatre play by David Owen Smith and Peter Came performed during Armistice Week atLincoln Drill Hall, Lincoln in November 2014. The play concerns the Beechey family of Lincoln, UK. Amy Beechey had eight sons who all enlisted to fight during the First World War; only three of them survived. The bugle call is sounded during the final moments of the play. The play was directed by Janie Smith and performed by people of Lincoln.
British Forces Broadcasting Service radio stations would play the "Last Post" beforethe National Anthem at closedown.
