And since Godfrey was in the RNAS in France and not the Army in India, he isn't likely to have written the familiar "leaving Bombay" stanza.

A troopship, moreover, would not likely have been "heavily laden with time-expired men" in wartime.

The full pre-1941 story behind "Bless 'em All" has yet to be written - and it may be too late to do so now.