Doug Lyon on his 66 years of Anzac days

For 66 years, this humble country gentleman has played The Last Post and Reveille at his local Anzac Day service, once playing it 17 times in one day. SEE THE VIDEO

Gympie region bugler Doug Lyon is a living legend of Anzac Day bugle players.

He has never missed a beat or an Anzac service – playing The Last Post and Reveille since 1956.

This Anzac Day will mark his 66th consecutive year of playing at Anzac services.

Mr Lyon was 14 and playing the solo cornet in the Salvation Army when his bandmaster asked him to fill in for him playing The Last Post and Reveille at a Remembrance Day in Mary Street in Gympie.

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Doug Lyon has never missed playing The Last Post and Reveille at an Anzac Day service since 1956. Thursday, April 20, 2023. Picture: Christine Schindler

“That was the first time I played The Last Post and Reveille,” Mr Lyon said.

“I’ve played it probably 1000 times since then. I’ve played it at least once every year at Anzac Day, at gravestones, raising the flags, I used to play on horseback.”

He’s played it at services in Memorial Park and the War Memorial Gates in Gympie, Cooroy, Mary Valley, Imbil, all along the Sunshine Coast.

When he was living at Coffs Harbour for a time, he played 17 times in one day.

“They all timed their services for me so I could get there for my five minutes,” he laughed.

A quiet, stout 80-year-old gentleman with bright blue eyes, a gentle heart and a penchant for brass instruments, his age has meant he’s had to limit himself to the one Anzac Day service this year at Woolooga.

All the services have been memorable though, and it is with honour he serves to punctuate the minute of silence, signifying the soldiers’ final resting with The Last Post, and the end of the silence with the Reveille.

“The biggest thing that we can thank our Anzacs for is freedom,” Mr Lyon said.

Doug Lyon has not missed playing The Last Post and Reveille at an Anzac Day service since 1956. Thursday, April 20, 2023. Picture: Christine Schindler

Mr Lyon held the rank of corporal in the 9th Battalion and his serial number is 164379; he is a founding member of Gympie’s Light Horsemen since 1999.

From a blacksmith striker, dairy farm worker, Salvation Army officer, and running a courier and takeaway business before retiring, he now lives in Curra, 17km north of Gympie.

Despite having five children and 17 grandchildren, Mr Lyon has not missed a single Anzac Day bugle; this he attributes to his ability to “get rid of the traffic”.

“You’ve got to be able to hold your nerve, you don’t want to stuff it up,” he said.

But above all, “you’ve gotta have a bugle”.

Originally published as Doug Lyon on his 66 years of Anzac days