Archibald Seaburne May

Captain (retired) Archibald Seaburne May, M.V.O., O.B.E., Royal Navy (29 June, 1885 – 31 January, 1947) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

May was born in Southsea, the son of William Henry May, who was a Captain at the time young Archibald entered Britannia on 15 January, 1900.

May was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 15 October, 1905.

May was appointed to H.M.S. Dominion for gunnery duties on 30 September 1912. While in this appointment, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 15 October, 1913.

He left Dominion when he was appointed to Valiant as gunnery officer on 2 April, 1915. He was to control her 15-in guns at the Battle of Jutland. Promoted to the rank of Commander on 31 December 1917, he remained as gunnery officer in Valiant until being made executive officer on 24 September, 1918.

May received his next appointment on 3 December, 1919, when he joined the "Fire Control Table Committee", which was possibly the same thing as the Grand Fleet Dreyer Table Committee. In 1925, he was placed in command of a group of destroyers in reserve, and in January, 1926 was thanked for his work in production of a new fire control table. He was placed on the Retired List on his own request on 6 June, 1927.

He was promoted to the rank of Captain on 39 June, 1930 and received a series of appointments in World War II, overseeing ship construction on the Clyde and elsewhere.

He died of cardiac failure an hour and a half after having his tonsils removed to treat septic tonsillitis which had afflicted him for "some years".

Service Records

• The National Archives. ADM 196/49. f. 134.

See Also

• Account of Eric Sydney Brand at the Battle of Jutland

Naval Appointments
Preceded by Hubert A. Foster	Captain of H.M. T.B. 67 12 Jan, 1906 – 9 Feb, 1906	Succeeded by Philip W. S. King
Preceded by Cecil N. Reyne	Captain of H.M.S. Petersfield 25 Jul, 1922 – 28 Jul, 1924	Succeeded by Lancelot A. W. Spooner