WW1Significance of WW1

When is the Last Post played?:

The Last Post is a bugle call that is usually played before or after the 1 minute of silence at a commemorative service at 4:55pm. The New Zealand Defence Force in a partnership with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage marked the First World War centenary each evening with a last post ceremony at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park, everyday at 5pm a Last Post ceremony was conducted on the forecourt of the National War Memorial in Wellington.

What does the song represent?:

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 to indicate that the soldier has gone to his final rest and at commemorative services such as Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.

Why was the Last Post played/ When Was it first played?

The last Post was first played in 1790s, the Last Post is one of a number of bugle calls in military tradition that marks the phases of the day. The Last Post is believed to have originally been part of a more elaborate routine known in the British Army "tattoo" that began in the 17th century. In the evening a duty officer had to do the rounds of his unit's position checking that the sentry post were manned and rounding up the off-duty soldier's and packing them off to their beds or billets. The officer would be accompanied by one or more musicians. The "first post" was sounded when he started his rounds and as the party went from post to post. A drum was played the drum was played to tell the soldier's to go to sleep if the soldier's were in town the beats told them it was time to leave the pubs. ( The word "tattoo" came from the word Dutch for " turn off the taps" of beer kegs Americans call this tap or "drum taps."

Why is this song important to New Zealand?

The memorial commemorates casualties from the forces of United Kingdom ( who died prior to 16 August 1917) Australia, Canada, India, and South Africa. Inside the memorial, New Zealand are commemorated with a simple plaque, the first daily public Last Post ceremony was held at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park on Anzac Day 2015 and was conducted  every evening until 11 November 2018 in front of the tomb of the unknown warrior. The Last Post is a bugle call with two generally accepted purposes the first implied summoning of the spirits of the fallen to the Cenotaph, the second symbolically ends the day.