Last post sounds at the castle

Bugle Major Gary Freeland of 2 Rifles based at Lisburn sounded the last post at the State Entrance to Hillsborough Castle.

In London and Cardiff military buglers also sounded The Last Post while in Edinburgh a military piper play a lament.

The ceremony in Ypres Salient took place at the Menin Gate where daily ceremonies to mark the courage, commitment and sacrifice of tens of thousands of soldiers from Britain and the commonwealth.

Soldiers from Ireland - both north and south - not only were in British ranks but also with forces from the USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Bugle Major Freeland has been playing the bugle since 2005.

Constant worries over the impact of weather on the instrument and in getting a good seal between lips and mouthpiece make it a difficult task. But add to the constant emotion - particularly when he has played for colleagues he has known, mean the pressure can be intense. “It is always an emotional time,” he said,”all the more so when you are playing for a colleague or another soldier you have known personally.”