Green’s Dictionary of Slang

a general excl. of intensification and affirmation, i.e. ‘may I lose the attributes of masculine vigour if I am diverging from the line of rectitude’ (Ware); note abbr. in cit. 1914.

1861		(con. 1840s–50s) H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor III 134/2: They’ll say, too ‘S’elp my greens!’.
1866		J. Greenwood Little Ragamuffin 237: I’ll do it, I will, swelp me goodness!
1866		Liverpool Dly Post 7 Feb. 7/6: Oh! s’elp me greens, there’s a Pharoah’s serpent.
1876		J. Greenwood Low-Life Deeps 308: But swelp me goodness! if I was a lord of a manor and I wanted to screw a penny out of a poor cove wot couldn’t afford it, I would contrive to put by enough out of the profits to alter the cut of them toll takers.
1883		in J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era (1909) 228/2: Here’s a nice little story, and it’s all true, s’elp me greens.
1886		Portsmouth Eve. News (Hants) 15 Dec. 3/5: He was fined 20s. [...] For nothing at all, s’elp me goodness.
1890		Sporting Times 8 Feb. 6/2: Well, s’welp my good garden stuff, that’s rich.
1891		Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette 23 Jan: ‘Well s’elp me greens,’ he cried, wiping his eyes and panting for breath [...] ‘you’ll be the death o’ me [...]’ [F&H].
1898		W. Pett Ridge Mord Em’ly 28: You’ll be a jolly fine deemestic servant, you will, so ’elp my goodness.
1898		Dly Teleg. 30 Dec. 8/6: ‘O swop my greens,’ Ginger, Jewey says.
1909		J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era 147/2: S’elp me greens, yer washup, I don’t know what booze is. I’m a most ill-used bloke.
1914		E. Pugh Cockney At Home 172: He [...] stands there a-staring and saying, ‘Lumme!’ and ‘Strike me!’ an ‘Good garden stuff!’.