A man who learned his musical skills in Meltham has played to his biggest-ever audience.
Sgt Gavin Hall is a cornet player in the renowned Coldstream Guards Band. And he was the one chosen to play The Last Post at a moving ceremony to commemorate the centenary of the Great War.
Sgt Hall, 38, played to an audience of Royalty, world leaders and former Army veterans, as well as a global audience of millions watching on TV when the anniversary was marked in the St Symphorien Military Cemetery in Mons, close to the spot where many thousands died in the trenches.
It was a proud moment for his parents, Michael and Joyce, at their Meltham home.
Sgt Hall, who is married to Kelly-Ann and dad to Lindsay and Eythan, joined the Coldstream Guards 12 years ago, signing on for a 22-year engagement.
He is a regular at the Changing of the Guard ceremonies at Buckingham Palace and is now preparing for a band tour of France.
His father said: “He has always loved music and joined the Meltham and Meltham Mills Band when he was 15 and a pupil at Honley High School.
“He started work at the Yorkshire Bank but then decided to study music as a career and got a degree at Salford University.
“He moved on to play with the Brighouse and Rastrick Band when they won everything going and it was while he was at an event in Cambridge that he heard the Coldstream Guards wanted a cornet player.
“He went for an interview, signed up and was sent off for basic training in Winchester.
“He loves the life and has been around the world with the Band, who are very highly regarded.
“It was a great honour to be asked to play at the centenary ceremony. We got a text from him as he went out there and he told us he had been chosen."
Sgt Hall said: “It was quite a daunting prospect but I’ve got to honour the servicemen who made the ultimate sacrifice."
