Hi, Lighter. I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that I thought you had accused Godfrey of stealing the thing. That certainly wasn't my intention, and I would love to get to the bottom of the mystery.

I am familiar with the quote from The Airman's Song Book -- I came across it years ago and it forms part of what little I have in the way of corroborative evidence of Godfrey's association with the song.

As for what my relative might know about the issue, I couldn't say. He's a much older cousin, now in his seventies, presumably living somewhere in England, but we've been out of touch with him for decades. I have tried to contact him through the Performing Right Society (which won't divulge his address), but he refuses to answer my hails. Perhaps there is some old family wound that hasn't healed that I don't know about -- it may well have to do with fights over royalties by Godfrey's children after his death in 1953. My mother (Godfrey's youngest) certainly didn't inherit them, and we emigrated to Canada in 1954, so we were out of the picture. Ironically, I'm now the only one in the family who's interested in Godfrey and his career -- hence the website -- and all the principals involved are long since dead.

Incidentally, since Godfrey was serving with the RNAS in 1917 when he supposedly wrote the song, and since he also absolutely hated being in uniform even though he was never anywhere near any fighting, it may well be that the scurrilous lyrics originated with him.

As for why it wasn't published at the time, I could conjecture that, with so many hundreds of songs already under his belt, including many big Music Hall hits, he may well have tossed off "Bless 'Em All" for "local" consumption, as it were, and thought no more about it. But if it did become popular in the RAF during the interwar years, as is claimed, why wouldn't Godfrey have gotten wind of it and seen to its publication much earlier than 1940? Beats me!