The Last Post: Music, Remembrance and the Great War

Turner, A. (2014) The Last Post: Music, Remembrance and the Great War. Project Report. Aurum Press Ltd, London.

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Abstract

At eleven o'clock on the morning of the 11th November 1919 the entire British Empire came to a halt to remember the dead of the Great War. During the first two-minute silence all transport stayed still, all work ceased and millions stood motionless in the streets. The only human sound to be heard was the desolate weeping of those overcome by grief. Then the moment was brought to an end by the playing of the Last Post. A century on, that lone bugle call remains the most emotionally charged piece of music in public life. In an increasingly secular society, it is the closest thing we have to a sacred anthem. Yet along with the poppy, the Cenotaph and the tomb of the Unknown Warrior, its power is profoundly modern. It is a response to the trauma of war that could only have evolved in a democratic age. In this moving exploration of the Last Post's history, Alwyn W Turner considers the call's humble origins and shows how its mournful simplicity reached beyond class, beyond religion, beyond patriotism to speak directly to peoples around the world. Along the way he contemplates the relationship between history and remembrance, and seeks out the legacy of the First World War in today's culture.

Publication Type: Monographs (Project Report)
Additional Information: ISBN: 9781781312858
Subjects: D History General and Old World > D History (General)
D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D204 Modern History
D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D501 World War I
D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D731 World War II
D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D839 Post-war History, 1945 on
Divisions: Academic Areas > Institute of Arts and Humanities > History
Related URLs:
Depositing User: Alwyn Turner
Date Deposited: 16 Oct 2020 09:37
Last Modified: 16 Oct 2020 10:04
URI: https://eprints.chi.ac.uk/id/eprint/5372

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