"there's one similar to wrap me up in my taurpaulin jacket. WWII vintage I believe."

This one?

A poor avaiator lay dying
At the end of a bright summer's day
And to all his sorrowing comrades
His last parting words he did say.

The prop was piled up on his wishbone;
The cylinder wrapped round his head;
He wore a spark plug in each elbow;
It was clear he would shortly be dead.

He spat out a valve and a gasket
As he stirred in the sump where he lay.
And to all those assembled around him
His final farewell he did say:

"Take the manifold out of my larynx;
Take the piston rod out of my brain;
Take the cylinder out of my kidneys
And assemble the engine again.

I'll be flying a cloud in the morning
With no Merlin before me to curse.
So hurry up boys and get ready;
There's a bloody long queue for the hearse.

Forgotten by the country that bore us;
Betrayed by the ones we hold dear;
The brave they have all gone before us
And only the dull are still here.

So stand to your glasses ready;
This world is a world full of lies.
Have a drink to the ones dead already
And one one more for the next man that dies."

Mention of the Merlin I think dates this to the Korean War, but it certainly existed in WW2 and I think WW1. There is in fact a SOLDIER'S song called Stand To Your Glasses which predate's aircraft entirely - mid C19 I think.