Wheatbelt South bugler Emily Ballantyne keeps Anzac spirit alive with sound of historic instrument

At Anzac Day services around the Wheatbelt South, a battle-scarred bugle entrusted to Emily Ballantyne sounded the Last Post and the Rouse.

The bugle was played at services in Narrogin, Popanyinning and Cuballing last Thursday.

In Cuballing, Ms Ballantyne’s father Scott shared some of its history.

“From what we’ve been told and what I can gather, it has seen duty on the battleground in both the Great War and World War II,” he said.

“We believe that it belonged to a Narrogin local, possibly attached to the 25th Light Horse, and we think it is the same bugle that Ernie Phillips played at the Narrogin Anzac services from 1944-1969.”

The pair have been trying to trace the instrument’s roots since it was donated to the Narrogin RSL in 2014.

The bugle’s dints and dings tell of a rough journey, and in 2015 it travelled with the Perth Hills and Wheatbelt Band to Gallipoli, where Ms Ballantyne played while standing in the water on the shore.

“That was the biggest turning point for me . . . there’s no greater glory than to be able to play it and continue the legacy through the sound of the call,” she said.

Nine years later, Ms Ballantyne said it remained an honour to play.

“I grew up sort of knowing the general story, like everyone, of Anzac Day but to be able to then play the bugle and step into those shoes — the piece itself, the weight that it carries for a lot of different people in a lot of different ways . . . it resonates with so many people on so many different levels,” she said.

“It’s just such a great honour to get to play and to keep that legacy alive in that form, because I know there’s very few who get the ability to do it.”