"A Sailor Went to Sea" is a traditional children's clapping game, and skipping rhyme.
[1] "My father Went to Sea" originated in Brockley at Mile End sometime in 1967 by an unknown writer.
[2] From there, it spread throughout London in the early 1970s to West Norwood and Battersea Brixton.
[4] According to the Opies, the title "A Sailor Went to Sea" was a joke that originated or was perpetuated in the song "We Joined the Navy" (aka "We Saw The Sea") from the 1936 movie Follow the Fleet.
[2] A first verse of A Sailor Went To Sea goes as: While saying "sea", aquatic waves are mimed with the hand; while saying "see", the hand is brought to the eye to mime a "seeing" gesture.