He has played the Last Post at Palmerston's Anzac Day service for more than six decades, but reckons he is getting worse as the years draw on.
"I learned the trumpet before I was even a teenager and the first time I played the Last Post was the Anzac parade here [Palmerston] in 1950. In the years since, I have missed just one service, but I'm getting worse," he chuckled.
Mr Lester (77) had just celebrated his 15th birthday when first asked to play in his town's service.
His father was a bandsman and taught young Bill to play the cornet, then trumpet, when the lad's piano teacher became a "land girl" in the war and was shifted according to her duties.
Mr Lester said the Last Post was not especially difficult to play, "as long as you've had a wee bit of practice and keep your lip in order".
"I do have the music and I follow the music during the playing, simply because it's quite easy to put a wrong note in," he said.
The same trumpet had been in his hands for 59 years and played in all weather, including snowstorms.
"It's supposed to be a sweeter instrument - an orchestral instrument," he said.
Anzac Day has always been a family affair with the Lesters. Mr Lester's wife, Teash, made Palmerston's Anzac Day wreaths for years before handing on the responsibility in 2011.
Weekly practices and the odd ceremony saw Mr Lester take up his trumpet in between Anzac Days.
"I'll perhaps keep going for a while; it depends how the old lip stands up," he said.
