A Brief History of The Last Post
In
military tradition, the Last Post is the bugle call that
signifies the end of the day’s activities.
It
is also sounded at military funerals and commemorative
services such as ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day to indicate
that the soldier has gone to his final rest.
The
Last Post is one of a number of bugle calls in military
tradition that mark the phases of the day. While Reveille
signaled the start of a soldier’s day, the Last Post signaled
its end.
The
call is believed originally to have been part of a more
elaborate routine, known in the British Army as “tattoo”, that
had its origins in the 17th century.
In
the evening, a duty officer had to do the rounds of his unit’s
position, checking that the sentry posts were manned and
rounding up the off-duty soldiers and packing them off to
their beds or billets. He would be accompanied by one or more
musicians.
The
first post was sounded when the duty officer started his
rounds and, as the party proceeded from post to post, a drum
was played. The drum beats told off-duty soldiers it was time
to rest; if the soldiers were billeted in a town, the beats
told them it was time to quit the pubs.
“Tattoo”
is a derivation of doe
den tap toe, Dutch for “turn off the taps”, a call which
is said to have followed the drum beats in Dutch pubs while
British armies were campaigning through Holland and Flanders
in the 1690s. (The American practice of “taps” or “drum taps”
also originated from the routine.)
Another
bugle call was sounded when the party completed its rounds,
reaching the “last post” – this signaled the night sentries
were alert at their posts and gave one last warning to any
soldiers still at large to retire for the evening.
The
Last Post was eventually incorporated into funeral and
memorial services as a final farewell, and symbolises the duty
of the dead is over and they can rest in peace.
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