The Household Division presents The Queen and the Commonwealth in the Platinum Jubilee year A Military Musical Spectacular. Horse Guards Parade London 5th-7th July 2022

Wiki: "Abide with Me" is a Christian hymn by Scottish Anglican Henry Francis Lyte. A prayer for God to stay with the speaker throughout life and in death, it was written by Lyte in 1847 as he was dying from tuberculosis. It is most often sung to the tune "Eventide" by the English organist William Henry Monk.

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Since the 1927 FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Cardiff City, the first and last verses of the hymn are traditionally sung at the FA Cup Final about 15 minutes before the kick-off of the match.[23] It has also been sung prior to the kick-off at every Rugby League Challenge Cup Final since 1929.[24]


The Last Post

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How did a simple British Army bugle call from the 18th century become a sacred anthem of death and remembrance? And how did it spread to the rest of the world, played at the funerals of Gandhi and Nelson Mandela?

The Last Post started as just one of a couple of dozen bugle calls played every day in a British Amy barracks. Then, in the 1850s, it found a new role, played at soldiers’ funerals and from there it was extended to be used at memorial services for those who had died in conflict.

Gradually, it moved beyond the military, played at the funerals of many who had never been in the armed forces, such as Wallace Hartley, bandmaster of the Titanic.

But it was in the midst of the First World War that The Last Post had its greatest resonance, becoming the obvious soundtrack to remembrance.

Then, as the British Empire dissolved, it was invariably The Last Post that was sounded as the Union flag was lowered for the final time in former colonies across the world.

Somewhat bizarrely, it was played to mark the passing of Gandhi and Nelson Mandela; it is still sounded on both sides of the disputed border between India and Pakistan; it was the accompaniment to funerals for both the IRA and the UDA. And it spread beyond the British Empire, to countries like Portugal and Belgium and to their former colonies.

Now, The Last Post is played in its original incarnation only at the Tower of London, where it is still sounded nightly. But in its role as the music of loss, it has become almost a sacred anthem in an increasingly secular society.

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