Lost Bugle to Return to Fallen Anzac in Moving Tribute
More than 108 years after a fallen Australian soldier was separated from the item that reminded him of home, an emotional reunion will occur at a cemetery in France next week.
When the notes of the Last Post are played there, it will be the completion of an extraordinary story that not only traverses 108 years, but opposite ends of the globe.
In 1983 a Queensland man was visiting Norfolk, England when an unusual object caught his eye in a local antique store.
It was a bronze bugle bearing the rising sun badge of the Australian army.
A crown and the word ‘Australia’ were emblazoned across the top of the instrument with the name ‘G. Eyre’ on top of the Bell section.
Intrigued, Mr Wilkes purchased the bugle for seventy-five pounds and brought it home to Australia where he began researching its origins.
He was able to connect it to a First World War soldier, Private George Eyre, attached to the 10th Battalion who was killed in action in France in 1917.
The only information he could find on Private Eyre was that he was born in Buln Buln, a small village just north of Warragul, Victoria.
Recognising the historical significance of the instrument he sold the bugle to a grateful Warragul RSL Sub-Branch, who reimbursed Mr Wilkes the equivalent of the seventy-five pounds he had paid.
Little is known about Private George Eyre.
His military records show that he was born in Buln Buln in 1881 and went to the local school. He enlisted in the Australian Infantry Forces on 18 January 1916 aged 34 years seven months, one of seven children born to James and Sarah Eyre.
The only known photo of Private Eyre was taken just prior to his unit departing for Europe on 25 March 1916. He is seated at the front row, clutching the bugle on which he was to play the Last Post as the company bugler in the far-off trenches of northern France.
Sadly, the only other information on Private Eyre’s military records are the words “Killed in Action 8 April 1917” and his place of burial as Moeuvres Communal Cemetery Extension, France.
The 10th battalion was engaged in an attack at nearby Louverval on 8 April 1917 and it is likely that Private Eyre lost his life during this engagement. What became of his beloved bugle over the next 66 years, and how it came to be in an antique store in Norfolk in 1983, is unknown. What is clear is Private Eyres’ skill as a blacksmith, adding his own name and Australian emblems to the instrument.
It was ultimately these inscriptions which made tracing the bugle’s origins, and connection to Warragul RSL Sub-Branch, possible.
The bugle is not only part of the Warragul RSL collection but also used every ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day in memory of soldiers like Private Eyre who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
“It is treasured by the Warragul RSL,” said Lynn Mizen, RSL Warragul Sub-Branch President. “I can think of no better way to commemorate the veterans of this area than by sounding the Last Post on the very bugle used in the trenches of France.”
Warragul resident Sarah Lucas had seen the bugle played on ANZAC Day and was aware of the bugle’s connections to the First World War. Sarah, and her husband Anthony Lucas, both members of the Warragul Municipal band, were offered the opportunity to join the City of Traralgon Band in a tour of European battlefields, honouring fallen soldiers through music. Remembering the bugle Sarah did some research and traced Private George Eyre to the Moeuvers Community Cemetery Extension in France.
Sarah approached Lynn Mizan and asked if the bugle could be taken on the tour in honour of Private George Eyre. Both Warragul RSL Sub-Branch and the City of Traralgon Band enthusiastically embraced the idea, and the tour schedule was changed to incorporate a visit to Private George Eyres’ gravesite.
“To hear the Last Post played by the grave of a veteran who has been separated from his home and family for over a hundred years will be a very special moment,” said Sarah Lucas. “I am so grateful to Warragul RSL Sub-Branch for the loan of an important part of their collection, and to how warmly the idea was accepted by the City of Traralgon Band.”
The honour of performing the Last Post by the gravesite has been given to the City of Traralgon Bands’ 19-year-old bugler, Lachlan Wilson.
“I am honoured to be given the opportunity to sound the Last Post on the very bugle played by a First World War veteran from my region,” Lachlan Wilson said. “I feel as if I have a personal connection with the man and that by playing at his grave, we are letting him know his sacrifice has not been forgotten.”
The Last Post service for Private Eyre will be held on 18 June 2025 with the Ode to be read by Lt Colonel Doug Caulfield OAM RFD (Ret’d), who has been the master of ceremonies at both ANZAC and Remembrance Day services for Traralgon RSL Sub-Branch for the last 20 years.
“To me, having this service is the embodiment mateship, one of the core values of the RSL and the Australian soldier. We are being true to the words in the ode I will read at the service, that we will remember them.”
It is not known if Private George Eyre has any living relatives. The Warragul RSL Sub-Branch is eager to hear from any person who believes they may be related to Private George Eyre and can shed more light on his extraordinary story.
