Written in 1914 by Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts, a British army bandmaster who later became director of music for the Royal Marines. Since service personnel were discouraged from having professional lives outside the armed forces, Ricketts published Colonel Bogey and his other compositions under the pseudonym Kenneth Alford. The sheet music was a million-seller, and the march has been recorded many times. Colonel Bogey is the official march of the King's Own Calgary Regiment (RCAC) of the Canadian Forces and Malcolm Arnold incorporated the march into his Oscar award winning score for the 1957 film Bridge Over the River Kwai.
 
The main tune was allegedly inspired by a military man and golfer who whistled the characteristic two-note phrase (a descending minor third interval) instead of shouting 'fore!' It is this descending interval which begins each line of the melody.