ON ANZAC Day 2024, Shirley Boughen played ‘God Save the King’ during the mid-morning Service in the Rosewood Memorial Hall. The rendition took her back to the time when she first performed the royal anthem for a King.
Playing the piano for the main Service on Anzac Day in Rosewood is an annual happening for Mrs Boughen.
It began when King George VI was on the throne and the then 14-year-old Shirley Wyatte filled in for her auntie, Leila Boughen.
And 73 years later, Mrs Boughen continues to play for the mid-morning Service on April 25.
“My daughter Penni has played the piano for the Anzac Day Service a couple of times in those years and I can’t remember whether I first started – it was either in 1950 or 1951.”
(Editor’s note: There is a rich history of Shirley Boughen’s piano playing for an array of community events but I promised her that I would keep this story very brief.)
