Prior to becoming a Salvation Army officer, Dean Goffin was the first Salvationist composer to gain a degree in music composition. This march was originally written for the 4th Brigade Band of the New Zealand Armed Forces (which Goffin conducted during World War Two) and called Bel Hamid before being adapted for Salvation Army use. The march contains the gospel song Ring the bells of heaven (...pealing forth the anthem of the free).