PLAYING the bugle has been Peter Carrett’s contribution to Anzac Day for more than 30 years.
The Wee Waa Public School principal has been the bugler at the Wee Waa services since 1983, when he was the music teacher at the local high school and formed a band which played at the Anzac Day service.
Mr Carrett began playing brass instruments at the age of 10, starting with the euphonium, baritone and trombone.
“My mum and dad and my father’s brothers were all members of brass bands so it was a natural progression for dad’s children to join the band.”
“As a child in the band we used to always play the march and the hymns for Anzac Day,” he said.
“I did that until I came to Wee Waa and once in Wee Waa the person who was playing the bugle left Wee Waa so they needed somebody. They asked me if I played and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
He hadn’t played the bugle until he moved to Wee Waa, but taught himself to play it.
“I was a student of Ted Newbery, who was the bandmaster of Moree band for about 60 years,” Mr Carrett said.
“All brass instruments work on the same basis so if you can play one you can teach yourself to play the others.”
The bugle he uses on Anzac Day belonged to his late father-in-law.
“When he passed away we found it among his possessions, so I play his bugle and I wear my father’s army band beret that he had from national service in the 1950s.”
Mr Carrett said Anzac Day was a time to remember and reflect on past wars, but also hope that there will be an end to all wars.
“I always pray on Anzac Day that there will be an end to war,” Mr Carrett said.
“My brother served in the navy for 20 years and was involved in the Gulf War, so in my generation there’s a link there and in my dad’s generation he had 12 cousins and uncles who served in World War II, so there’s always been a strong family commitment to Anzac Day.
“For me, Anzac Day is about remembering and honouring the fact that people are prepared to put their lives on the line to keep us safe.”
