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The King's Troop Trumpeters

The origins of Trumpet sounding
Trumpeters Today

THE ORIGINS OF TRUMPET SOUNDING

 

trumpeters old


Today there cannot be many white haired ex-soldiers whose lives were once regulated by the trumpet or bugle.  The official calls or "sounds" as military parlance had it, boasted a venerable pedigree, dating from 1798 when the first regulatory manual was published.

Who actually composed those calls is unknown, but they were collated and set in to print by a Trumpet Major James Hyde of the prestigious Westminster Light Horse Volunteers - a part time unit which did not survive the Napoleonic wars.

It is said that many of the calls were based on ancient foreign originals: for instance the old Prussian "Reveille" had much in common with the modern British version.

Successive editions of the "Manual of Trumpet & Bugle Sounds for the Army"("Calls" after 1966) contained the music for 83 routine and field, calls which both officers and soldiers were expected to recognize and act upon.

Cavalry trumpeters were trained musicians, members of the band. On service one trumpeter was allotted to each squadron to sound the executive calls on the bugle which he also carried. In the Royal Horse Artillery however, the trumpeters were boys, between 14 and 18, with little or no musical learning. The RHA trumpeter having learned the calls parrot-fashion from the Trumpet Major was dubbed a "Badgie" which has no relation to the crossed trumpets badge on his sleeve, but was derived from the Hindustani "Baja wallah" (Music Man)

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THE ROYAL HORSE ARTILLERY TRUMPETERS TODAY


TrumpetersThe trumpeters that you will hear today are all volunteers, who prior to joining The Kings Troop RHA, have received no formal training in the art of sounding whatsoever.

Those trumpeters competing for the much-coveted "Best Trumpeter" award have, in most cases, been in training for about two years.  They carry out regular daily routine trumpeter duties in barracks, as well as the duties of Section Commanders Trumpeter whilst mounted on parade.

Soldiers taking part in the "Novice" competition have been undergoing training as trumpeters for just four months. All the calls being sounded today are taken from the Manual of Trumpet & Bugle Calls for the Army 1966 (first published in 1895).

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