Leo R. Stanley
From Marchdb.net
1884-1966
Leo R. Stanley was the pseudonym of Randolph Robjent Ricketts. He was the younger brother of composer Frederick Joseph Ricketts. Like his brother, better known under pseudonym Kenneth J. Alford.
Ricketts was born in Shadwell, England, on December 9, 1884, and enlisted in the 18th Royal Irish Regiment as a band boy in 1900. He remained there for ten years and received bandmaster training at Kneller Hall. He graduated in 1913 and became bandmaster of the 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment, where he served until 1925. In 1926, he moved to the Band of the Royal Signal Corps, remaining with this group until his retirement in 1938.
His most famous march is The Contemptibles, written as a tribute to the British troops which temporarily halted the German advances at Mons and le Chateau in 1914. (Kaiser Wilhelm II is reported to have referred to these British forces as the "contemptible little army")
After leaving military service, Ricketts wrote several novelty and solo works, the most famous of which are the post horn solos, The Huntsmen and The Chase. He died in February of 1966, in Dovecourt, England.
Marches composed by Leo R. Stanley:
- Alamein
- The Chief
- The Colours 1922
- The Contemptibles 1918
- The Glory of Arnhem
- H.R.H. the Princess Royal
- The Iron Duke 1923
- Pageantry 1928
- The Pompadours
- Return of the Warriors
- Les Scaramouches
