SUB-BRANCH ACTIVITIES
THE BEENLEIGH GUN
Reveille or The Rouse?
The custom of waking soldiers to a bugle call dates back to the Roman Legions when the rank and file were raised by horns playing Diana’s Hymn. To this day the French term for Reveille is ‘La Diana’.
When bugle calls were officially introduced into the British System by George III, a special call was written for the waking of troops. This was known as Reveille meaning ‘to wake again’, from the old French. Joseph Hayden is generally regarded as the composer of the calls which exist substantially unchanged today.
On ANZAC Day, Reveille or The Rouse breaks the silence that follows the playing of the Last Post, symbolising the awakening of the dead in the next and better world. (The Rouse is the bugle call more commonly used in conjunction with the Last Post and to the layman is often incorrectly called Reveille. Although associated with the Last Post, Reveille is rarely used because of its length.)