Fand Catalogue

  

On the Quarterdeck

for piano duet

Kenneth J. Alford

arr. John Mitchell

Because of his twenty marches composed for military band, Kenneth J. Alford has sometimes been referred to as ‘The British March King’. His real name was Frederick Joseph Ricketts, and he adopted a pseudonym to distinguish his renown as a composer from his career as a military musician. Born in London in 1881, and after training at Kneller Hall, he eventually became bandmaster of the Royal Marines, a post he held almost up until the time of his death in 1945.

On the Quarterdeck is probably the best known of Alford’s marches after Colonel Bogey (with its fame boosted by being used in the 1957 film, The Bridge on the River Kwai). It was composed in 1917 and commemorated the naval Battle of Jutland that took place in the previous year. Although this fine march has already been arranged for piano solo, the present transcription for piano duet from the band score has allowed the countermelodies to be included, most of which were omitted from the former arrangement.

—John Mitchell, September 2025

Sample pages

(Click to enlarge)

	Composer	Title	Forces	Duration
	Kenneth J. Alford arr. John Mitchell	On the Quarterdeck for piano duet	Piano duet	3 mins

Recorded performance

In the absence of a live recording of this piece, John and Jean Meccanico have obliged to give you an idea of how it sounds

Catalogue code: FM304 • Published: 1st September 2025
Entry last updated: 1st September 2025