British songwriter Desmond Cox was half of the partnership Box and Cox. The other half of the team was Harold Elton Box. Many of their songs were written jointly under the pseudonym Fred Heatherton. Their best-known songs, written in the 1930s and 1940s, were “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts” and “I’ve Got Sixpence.” Another of their joint pseudonyms was “Louis Elton,” which they used on “My Shadow Misses Your Shadow” and the popular “When They Sound the Last 'All Clear.’ " Vera Lynn, known as the British “Forces’ Sweetheart” for her many concerts for the troops, sang this last one for a 1941 release during World War II.
Of the 84 entries for the pair on the Discogs website, by far the most are for various artists and film soundtracks using these two songs. Their coconut song was a hit with Merv Griffin singing it in 1950 and Danny Kaye the following year. It was used more recently in “The Lion King” film and in music for an episode of the television series “Coronation Street.” The original “I’ve Got Sixpence” rhyme dates back at least to 1810, but they revised the words and put it to music; this too was used in numerous film soundtracks. The partners also opened their own Box & Cox Music Publishing Company. The company name was a play on the title of a one-act farce, Cox & Box, that was popular in the late 19th century.