More about the Last Post |07 June 2008

Allow me to add that the Last Post is also used at Commonwealth military funerals and ceremonies to commemorate those who have fallen in war.

The Last Post was originally a bugle call used in British Army camps to signal the end of the day. The name derives from the practice of inspecting all the sentry posts around such camps at the end of the day and playing a bugle call at each of them.

The “last post” was thus the last point of this inspection, and the bugle call signalling that this post had been inspected marked the end of the military day. This custom dates from at least the 17th century and originated with British troops stationed in the Netherlands, where it drew on an older Dutch custom, called Taptoe.

The Taptoe was also used to signal the end of the day but has a more prosaic origin. Taptoe originally signalled the moment that beer barrels had to be shut, hence that the day had ended. It comes from the Dutch phrase doe den tap toe, meaning “turn the tap off” – not to be confused with “Taps”, which has a similar function but a different tune and origin.

During the 19th century, the Last Post was also carried to the various countries of the British Empire. In all these countries it has been incorporated into military funerals, where it is played as a final farewell, symbolising the fact that the duty of the dead soldier is over and that he can rest in peace.

C. N. Hoareau      
Historian