I have come across parts of the song when talking to ww2 service personel both army and navy.
The song strikes me as a victorian era parlour or possibly music hall song,many of those songs had a similar sentimental flavour.
Research in that field may lead to an original version.
To answer Snuffy's puzzlement about sailors on a battlefield,look up The Naval Brigades.Royal Navy sailors took part in the Boer War and the
Crimea War in support of the British army.