The Band of HM Royal Marines, Commandos Kenneth Joseph Alford is a pseudonym taken by Major Fredrick Joseph Ricketts. As a composer he is best known for his marches, the most famous of which being Colonel Bogey. British officers of his day were not encouraged to pursue interests outside the Services so, as a Lieutenant, he published works under a pseudonym. The first name, "Kenneth", was that of his eldest son, and the surname, "Alford", was his mother's maiden name. Major Fredrick Joseph Ricketts (21 February 1881 - 15 May 1945), joined the Royal Irish Regiment as a musician in 1895 and was commissioned into the Royal Marines as a Director of Music in 1927. He retired in 1944 with the rank of Major. Ricketts/Alford is known as "The British March King", and is considered by many to be Britain's equivalent of America's John Phillip Sousa. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Kenneth+Alford">Read more on Last.fm</a>. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.