Kenneth J. Alford was the pen name of Frederick Joseph Ricketts (1881–1945). He is known as the British march king. His fame rests on a relatively small but highly acclaimed body of work, with 18 to 20 principal marches being highlighted. Quite a few of these are played regularly by bands in many countries.
Ricketts’s early musical training was playing the piano and organ and working as a church chorister in the parish church of St. Paul’s in the East London area of Shadwell. He would often be hearing marching bands and early Salvation Army bands.
Orphaned at age 14, Ricketts was enlisted as a Band Boy in the Royal Irish Regiment. He was proficient enough on cornet within very few months to be accepted into the regimental band. Later, he learned to play all instruments in the band.
At 23, he was recommended for entry into the Student Bandmaster Course at the Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall, an institution known for its rigorous requirements.
In 1908, Ricketts was appointed bandmaster to the Band of the 2nd Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. From 1930 he served for 14 years as director of music of the Band of the Royal Marines at Plymouth and rightly them made famous.
On the Quarter Deck was written in 1917 to commemorate the Battle of Jutland. Traditionally, the quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. It was where the captain commanded his vessel and would also be where a band would stand. The term is still applied to the area at the stern of a modern ship.
The sound clip is played by the Massed Bands of HM Royal Marines at Beating Retreat on Horse Guards Parade in London: YouTube
Transcriptions and descriptions are not AI-generated.
Kenneth J. Alford was the pen name of Frederick Joseph Ricketts (1881–1945). He is known as the British march king. His fame rests on a relatively small but highly acclaimed body of work, with 18 to 20 principal marches being highlighted. Quite a few of these are played regularly by bands in many countries.
