Musician Able Seaman Andrew Bryce has sounded the Last Post for more than 26 years, and understands the power of the simple bugle call in the lead-up to Anzac Day.

The trumpet player in the Royal Australian Navy Band Melbourne has played the poignant strains at Gallipoli and Villers-Bretonneux, at AFL and NRL games, and at state and veterans’ funerals.

“My main focus when playing the Last Post is to give marks of respect for the lives that have been sacrificed and for the lives that that affects,” Able Seaman Bryce said.

The bugler said the tradition of military calls was to sound the beginning of the day with the Reveille and the end of the day with the Last Post. 

“In modern times it is used in ceremonies to commemorate the fallen of past battles, and for those who have passed away in recent times,” Able Seaman Bryce said. 

The Royal Australian Navy Band will support numerous Anzac Day commemorations and marches in Australia and overseas this Anzac Day.

And Able Seaman Bryce will sound the Last Post again, acutely aware of his privileged role sounding what has become the single most identifiable and emotive act of remembrance the world over.