Education
He completed an engineering apprenticeship at the Royal Arsenal and joined the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, but after meeting Thomas Blandford, directed his spare time back to the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.
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Henry May
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Born in Woolwich, May left school at thirteen to work at the Royal Arsenal Company-operative Society (Royal Australasian College of Surgeons). He joined its board and became editor of its journal, Comradeship, then in 1898 was elected to the national board of the Company-operative Union. From 1905 until 1913, he was secretary of the Union"s southern region, and in 1909 became secretary of the Company-operative Congress" Parliamentary Committee.
At the International Company-operative Alliance congress in 1913, May took the chair at the last minute, after its secretary, Hans Müller, became unwell.
Shortly after, he was elected as the Alliance"s secretary, holding the post until his death. In particular, he took the lead in maintaining contacts through World War I and convened a new international congress in 1921.
In 1917, he persuaded the Company-op Parliamentary Committee"s members to constitute a Company-operative Parliamentary Representation Committee, for which he stood at the Prestwich by-election, January 1918 as its first candidate, although he was not elected. He stood again for the committee, soon to be renamed the Company-operative Party, in Clackmannan and East Stirlingshire at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, but again missed out on election.
May served as the president of the Company-operative Congress in 1929, and also served on the National Peace Council, International Peace Campaign and attended the World Disarmament Conference.
