Kenneth J. Alford - List of Marches

List of Marches

• The Thin Red Line (1908) - named after his regiment's nickname, acquired in the Crimean War, when "the thin red streak tipped with a line of steel" of the 93rd Highlanders (Argylls) held back the Russian advance. Not published and available to the public until 1925.
• Holyrood (1912) - named after the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, commemorating the coronation year visit of HM King George V and Queen Mary. This march is now the quick march of the RAF Regiment.
• The Vedette (1912) - A vedette is a mounted sentry placed in advance of the outposts, a term probably familiar to Ricketts from his time in India but unfamiliar today.
• Colonel Bogey (1914) - Whistled notes on a golf course, possibly by the colonel, developed into his most famous march.
• The Great Little Army (1916) - commemorating the WWI British soldiers who bore the brunt of everything that was thrown at them, called by the enemy "The Contemptible Little Army".
• On the Quarter Deck (1917)
• The Middy (1917) - Both this and the previous march were written to commemorate the naval Battle of Jutland in 1916.
• The Voice of the Guns (1917) - meant initially to honour British artillery in World War I (hence the name), later it became widely adopted by the British army as a whole. Not to be confused with the poem of the same name by Gilbert Frankau (1916). Featured prominently in the film Lawrence of Arabia (1962).
• The Vanished Army (1918) - dedicated to the memory of the first 100,000 soldiers who perished in World War I. Subtitled "They Never Die."
• The Mad Major (1921) - Major Graham Seton Hutchinson was the Mad Major, whose war exploits had won him the Military Cross and a DSO.
• Cavalry of the Clouds (1923) - A salute to the fledgling Royal Air Force
• Dunedin (1928) - named for the Dunedin Exhibition of 1925/26 in New Zealand
• Old Panama (1929) - Ricketts returned from Dunedin by way of the Panama Canal
• HM Jollies (1929) - "HM Jollies" is a nickname for the Royal Marines. Alford wrote this march two years after his entry into the Royal Marines. The Bugle calls reference each of the three divisions of the corps. The nautical feeling of this march is made evident through Alford’s use of snippets of “The Sailor’s Hornpipe.”
• The Standard of St George (1930) - Inspired by watching The Trooping the Colour at Horse Guards Parade. This march was actually featured in the concert programs of the Band of the Royal Marines Depot, Deal, before it was published. The writing of this march is unique in that it does not start with an introduction; the strong first section bursts forth with a telling fanfare figure, below which is a tremendous bass foundation of sustained power for the whole of 32 bars.
• By Land and Sea (1941) - This march was modeled on Alford’s entry into a competition in 1934 for an official slow march for the Royal Marines. The title is the anglicized version of the Royal Marines motto “Per Mare Per Terram” and was written for the Plymouth Division, R.M. which includes a portion of the regimental quick march “A Life on the Ocean Wave” and the Royal Marines Bugle Calls. By Land and Sea is a magnificent example of the art of military ceremonial music.
• Army of the Nile (1941) - dedicated to General Wavell for halting the advance of the Axis Powers in Egypt
• Eagle Squadron (1942) - The Eagle Squadron was composed of American pilots in the RAF before America joined in the war. It then transferred to the USAAF. The march quotes The Star-Spangled Bannerand Dixie.